Let me tell you a little about Port Lincoln. It has a population of 14,880 and is one of the wealthiest cities in Australia. It has an almost perfect mediterranean climate with an average rainfall of 488 mls with cold winters and mild summers. It is located on Boston Bay that is three times the size of Sydney Harbour. Port Lincoln has Australia's largest commercial fishing fleet and in recent times has seen the majority of wealth come from the prized bluefin tuna farming industry with most of the tuna heading to Japan. You may also remember Dean Lukin, the olympic weight lifting champion, whose family have made their fortune from tuna fishing and farming. Another claim to fame is Makybe Diva, three times consecutive winner of the Melbourne Cup. She is owned by Tony Santic - another local tuna farmer. And lastly, Port Lincoln claims to be the seafood capital of Australia.
We started our morning with a lovely long walk to the marina. The Parnkalla Trail is almost 12kms long and is accessed from a number of points. The section we walked is not a sealed path and in some parts the track is quite overgrown with vegetation but nonetheless we enjoyed it very much and can we talk about the weather for a moment. It is magnificent with lots of sunshine and gentle breezes. Hallelujah!
Once we finished the walk we had a bite of breakfast and headed into Coles for a few essential items. As we were leaving the caravan park I took a quick photo to show you this caravan park. It has some of the best views in Port Lincoln and all the site rows are terraced so that every caravan has a view of the harbour. There is quite a bit of construction work being carried out in the pool area but the noise has not bothered us.
I had warned Philip that we would be eating out while we were in the seafood capital of Australia and after a lot of google searching I made reservations for lunch at Sharkys Restaurant. What got me excited was the seafood platter that the menu stated was locally sourced fresh seafood. It was only a ten minute drive to the restaurant and we easily found a parking spot. As we walked in the door I was impressed by the large open space with views to the bay........but hardly a should inside. Uh oh. This is not a good sign. Although we had made a reservation the waiter airily said "sit wherever you like as there is not many here!" We chose a window seat. Nice view.....
We hardly needed to look at the menu as we had already chosen the seafood platter so Philip walked up to the bar and ordered for us. Forty five minutes later the platter arrived - minus the tuna tataki that the waiter had to go back into the kitchen to get.
To say that we were underwhelmed by the platter is probably being kind. I mean we still have memories of the seafood platter that we devoured at the Lobster Shack in Cervantes, and it will be hard to beat, but this platter, in comparison, was awful. Four oysters, four prawns, two scallops, salt and pepper calamari that was soggy, two pieces of King George Whiting (good) and heaps of mussels (they are cheap), but the most disappointing thing was the crab. It was mush and inedible. We gave our meal a 5/10 and that was probably being generous for the price we paid.
I think our lunch yesterday, prepared by yours truly, was far superior.......
After that disappointing lunch we headed home to have a little nanny nap and later this afternoon we took the tourist drive to Winter Hill Lookout, Lincoln Cove Marina and Billy Lights Point. Port Lincoln is an easy town to navigate around and the esplanade is quite lovely. There is quite a bit of work going on along the esplanade foreshore and it will be a lovely place for families to hang out when it's finished. The views from Winter Hill Lookout are 360 degrees and quite stunning. To the north east we can see the sprawling estates that we are told are owned by the tuna farmers. We are surprised to see a winery in the distance and we are told that the wines are pretty darn good. The restaurant is also a popular choice for locals (wish I had known that before todays lunch).
The first thing you see when you arrive at Lincoln Cove Marina is the very large fleet of fishing vessels that dominate the marina. There are so many of them and any other boat in the marina is dwarfed by them.
I am quite enjoying Port Lincoln. It is a well laid out town with all the typical stores associated with this size town ie Coles, Woolies, K-Mart, Harvey Norman & Bunnings so the town is well catered for. Tomorrow we have a lunch reservation at Coffin Bay Oyster HQ. I am really hoping that this meal will be a memorable one, unlike todays.
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