Day 210 Ceduna, SA

 Philip reckons that we are bad weather magnets.  I'm beginning to think that he is right.  After I finished yesterdays blog post the weather turned extremely bad.  We had wind gusts up to 90kmh but surprisingly not much rain.  We folded in the awning and brought in the slide-out before we went to bed so that we might rest easy.  The BOM was sending out severe weather warnings every hour so we definitely sat up and took notice.  Thankfully the wind eased throughout the night and we woke to a calm day.  But not for long though as we were once again issued notices that the severe winds were returning in the afternoon and would last into the night.  

Before the wild weather returned, and it was still relatively calm, we decided to get in the car and go exploring the Ceduna area.  First stop was Pinky Point Lookout where there are many grain silos and a huge mound of gypsum all ready for export.  Indeed, there is a ship being loaded with grain as we watched.

Back in the car and out of the rain we headed towards Denial Bay where are, what remains, of the old Mackenzie Homestead and township.  I love old ruins and imagine myself living in that era.  It must have been very difficult.  These old buildings were made from whatever they could find in the area and in this area it is sand and rocks. 

It is said that William McKenzie (1844-1906) could seat 50 people in this dining room and his home was the "social hub" of the Denial Bay Area.  He was a man of many talents.  Farmer, Blacksmith, Builder, Harbour Master and JP, and was known for the slogan "You can't grow wheat with hands in your pocket".  We were intrigued with the remains of the round tanks that were very deep.  Salt water from the ocean was piped into these tanks and the water was then condensed and used for stock water.

We continued our journey and arrived into the little town of Denial Bay.  The first buildings we come across are very large sheds with lots of oyster trays stacked around the buildings.  We drove into one shed that said "Fresh Oysters for Sale" but sadly there was no-one there to sell us any oysters.

In Denial Bay we stopped at the jetty and even though the wind was almost blowing us backwards, we just HAD to walk the length of it.  You may have guessed by now that Philip (and me to some extent) is a jetty lover.  If he sees a jetty he just HAS to walk the length of it and boy, haven't we walked a few of these jetties over the past seven months.  

Before the Jetty was built in 1909 there was a landing to the north of the jetty.  It was from this landing that produce and people were loaded at low tide.  You can just pick out the landing in the photo below.

It was the quickest walk ever to the end of a jetty because the rain was coming towards us at a rapid rate and we only just made it back to the car before it tumbled down.  We decided that it was time to head home as it was almost lunch and the severe wind was due to hit us again within the hour.  

It is now 3pm and the wind is starting to really pick up.  We are heading to Streaky Bay tomorrow and will spend three nights there because Wikicamps tells us that there are some pretty amazing tourist drives in the area.

Day 209 Ceduna, SA

What is this weather!  Thirty degrees and sunshine!  We haven't had this glorious weather in a loooong time.  Mind you, the wind wants to carry us away but our caravan site seems to be fairly protected thank goodness.

So where are we today? After a very short drive of just under 80km from Penong, we are now in Ceduna.  There really wasn't a lot to report from today.  The drive was pleasant.  We are once again in the wheatbelt but this time South Australia.  Wherever you see the wheat fields, you will inevitably see sheep and there were lots to see.  We passed a few Alpachas huddled together in one paddock and we know that they are used to protect the sheep against wild dogs.  They hate dogs (a bit like a donkey) and will chase them to keep them away from the sheep.  

Just outside of Ceduna is the SA/WA quarantine point and of course we were stopped. Nobody passes through here without being checked.  You have to feel a bit sorry for those South Australians living on the wrong side of the checkpoint that would have to be checked every time they travelled into Ceduna.  The "checkpoint Charlie" didn't have much of a sense of humour and took away from us half a lettuce and a bag of grated zucchini.  I knew the lettuce wouldn't pass but grated zucchini?  I don't know why that would not pass.  Anyway, moving right along......

So consequently our first stop when we arrive into Ceduna is at the local Foodland to stock up on our fruit and vegetable supplies.  They have an excellent choice and why wouldn't they.  They are in the perfect position for travellers to stop and top up supplies.  We also swing by the local hardware to pick up some silicon for our leaking bedroom window.  We had quite a heavy downpour of rain last night that only lasted a few minutes but enough to let in more water.  This morning Philip climbed up to have another look at his last repair and found that there was another very small hole.  It is all siliconed now so hopefully there should not be any more leaks.

The Ceduna Foreshore Caravan Park is neat and tidy and we are parked on a very large double cement slab.  We are, however, packed in a bit like sardines with just a few metres between each van but once we extended our awning and keep it low we have adequate privacy.

We are both looking forward to walking/cycling along the foreshore path that runs from the caravan park and around beautiful Murat Bay for 3.6kms (one way).  Fingers crossed that the wind dissipates by tomorrow and we can enjoy Ceduna in full. At this stage (and things can and do change with us) we are here for two nights before we head to Streaky Bay and then on to Coffin Bay.  The Eyre Penninsula is well renowned for its oysters and tuna and I can't wait to sample both at some point.  

For our lunch today we had Skinny Korean Beef Lettuce Cups that are lettuce leaves filled with a spicy mince mix, brown rice, grated carrot and cucumber slices.  They are very delicious and healthy for the win.  After that very light lunch I made us a batch of pikelets for afternoon smoko.  Kinda defeats the purpose of a healthy lunch but gee they were good......😜😜

Day 208 Penong, (Great Australian Bight) South Australia

We have made it across the Nullarbor and now ensconced in a little wheatbelt town called Penong in South Australia.   It was a long day made even longer by losing 2.5 hours as we crossed the border into South Australia.  We are now Queensland time plus half an hour, so my time now is 7.00pm but in Queensland it is now 6.30pm.

We travelled more than 400 kilometres today from Eucla to Penong and followed the Great Australian Bight.  But first we have to cross the border into South Australia at Bordertown and are surprised that we are not stopped.  We later found out that there is still a checkpoint, but it is located at Ceduna where we will be staying tomorrow. It seems strange to have the checkpoint so far from the border but the border is in a very isolated area.  Speaking of isolated, todays landscape changed dramatically and there were very long distances between roadhouses.  In our 400 kilometre journey I think that there were only three or four major roadhouses to re-fuel, but I will have to check to make certain.

But today it was all about the Great Australian Bight.  Those magnificent soaring cliffs, up to 80 metres in height, are highlighted in many travel brochures and often feature on Instagram.  They are everything I expected to see plus a whole lot more.  It is just a magical feeling to be standing above those cliffs and so very close to the cliff face.  There are three major lookouts along the highway and we drove into all three.  There are lots of other minor lookouts, of course, but these are the three that have been set up for the benefit of anyone towing a van because they have big turnaround areas.  The first lookout is only twenty kilometres from Eucla then the next three are spaced out evenly over a distance of around 150 kilometres.  

However the best is yet to come when we reach the Head of Bight Lookout.  It is a paid lookout for the princely sum of $7/senior and for your dollar you get, by far and away, the best views of the Bunda Cliffs. In the whale season, whales can be seen frolicking in the ocean below the boardwalks that extend right along the cliff face.  Shame we are too late for the whale season.

As we look towards the east from the boardwalk we can see the extraordinarily white sand dunes.  We read that they are moving inland by 11 metres each year!  We have seen over our journey through the south of Western Australia how much these incredible dunes encroach on the landscape and just gobble up everything in their path.  Here is a little GoPro from today.....

This time change has really thrown me.  I am now looking at the clock and it is almost 8pm but the sun is still high in the sky (I very much dislike daylight saving!).  I went for a short walk before I started on the blog because just across the road from our caravan park is a field full of Windmills.  I'm feeling a little sentimental as I take photographs of these massive structures because my dad was a plumber and he specialised in repairing windmills.  So Dad, these are for you........

Day 207 Eucla, WA

 It is day two of our journey across the mighty Nullabor.  There is so much hype surrounding the Nullarbor.  All the talk of long distances and incredibly straight roads with very few towns would get a lot of people excited I guess.  But guess what?  I lived that scenario for most of my married life while living in  North West Queensland at Julia Creek!  I said yesterday that the scenery looks very familiar and certainly the great long stretches of highway are also familiar.  But today the scenery changed quite significantly when we reached the Madura Pass.  The views from the top of the pass at a height of more than 200m above sea level were extraordinary.  

As we made our decent from the top of the pass my ears popped.  We went from 200m altitude to 20m in just a few kilometres!  The Escarpment is now on our left and stays there all the way to Eucla.  In fact the escarpment runs right down to the oceans edge in South Australia and that is why you have those 80 metre cliffs right along the Great Australian Bight.  We will be following the edge of the Bight on our journey tomorrow.  It is only 250km from Cocklebiddy to Eucla so we took our time and stopped whenever we thought the view (or wildflowers) deserved it.  

It's not long before we can see the sand dunes in the distance.  They almost look like a mirage and I'm looking forward to being close to the ocean once again.  We are staying at the Eucla Motel and Caravan Park and it is like an oasis in the middle of the desert.  Eucla sits high on the escarpment that I mentioned and it is probably a good thing as the ever moving sand dunes are slowly moving inland and gobbling up everything in their way.  The caravan park has lots of trees, albeit small, but it's nice to have some greenery.  The sites are gravel for easy maintenance.  But the big surprise is the main reception/restaurant/bar  that has sweeping views of the ocean and a lovely garden area. It is unexpected.

Once we have unhooked the van and eaten our chop chop salad for lunch we get back in the car and head five kilometres back down the escarpment towards the ocean.  The old telegraph station ruins are situated here and a short walk over the sand dunes brings you to the old Eucla jetty.  These two relics are a reminder of a bygone era and remind us of what it was like to live back in the 1800's. Both ruins were vital to the survival of the people who lived here and their only link to the rest of Australia.

The shifting sands are slowly devouring the old telegraph station and it won't be too many years before nothing will remain to be seen.  The walk across the sand dunes towards the ocean is heavy going for the first kilometre but soon we are on hard rock and then on the beach where it is easy walking.  There are markers along the way so that you don't become disorientated but we just kept the very large tree at the telegraph station in our vision and that was our guide.  There is not much left of the old jetty but the birds find it a great place to roost.  As we look towards the east we can just make out the towering cliffs of the Bight.  I'm really looking forward to seeing them tomorrow.

Making our way back to the car we are once again driving up the long escarpment and we stop at the Lookout to read about Edward John Eyre - the great explorer - who camped in this area on his journey from Fowler Bay to Albany in 1841.

I have really enjoyed our day today and can look forward to more of the same tomorrow.  I have been cooking up a storm in my little kitchen this afternoon to use up all remaining fruit and vegetables.  I hate waste and the thought of good food going into the border disposal bins is very hard for me to see.  Anyway, I will not be contributing to the waste...