McCulloch Family Giant Leap: Relaxation at Marion Bay

We got away easily this fine Monday morning, mainly as we had packed everything up outside the night before. Mind you we double and triple checked everything was done right this time and the legs of the caravan were securely locked in. We also didn’t put our Hayman Reece bars on until we were out of our site and through the gate – made a huge difference and is actually the recommended thing to do.

Two happy kids.

As we had just free camped for three days we had decided it was time to head back into a caravan park and had booked into the only one in Marion Bay. We were secretly hoping that it had a nice beach that was an easy walk away so we could spend our afternoons there. On our arrival we were all busting to go to the bathroom as the last 51km was a very bumpy road which didn’t help. Hamish also said he was busting 20km out but after what happened last time we convinced him to hold as realistically there wasn’t anywhere to pull over.

Back to salt lake area by the looks of it.

Check in felt like it took forever but eventually I had the necessary information, but there was another hold up with the boom gates. After about eight attempts we were finally in. Jason continued our new habit of removing the Hayman Reese bars whilst I was checking in. It was a lucky thing he did as we had a few tight turns to get to our site which was actually easier without the bars on. Getting into the site was a little hard as the kids were a bit over the car and Jason couldn’t hear my instructions on the walkie-talkie. We eventually got there but we had to go right back so the front wasn’t sticking out. Lucky I had warned them that we own a long van as who knows what site we would have ended up in.

The kids were happy to watch a DVD while Jason and I set up – we like this as it allows us to get it all done a lot faster and uninterrupted. As soon as the water and power were plugged in I started catching up on the washing. I had quite a few to do and that included Kayla’s sheets as she had a nappy leak the night before. I had done three loads of washing by the time we decided to head out so I put on the forth and off we went just to explore the town.

We found a lookout over Marion Bay and yes the beach looked amazing so we breathed a sigh of relief. Then we just continued our drive around the town and checked out some very nice homes, all the time wondering if they are just sitting there empty for most of the year as they are holiday homes. This town has at least a servo come post office come corner store so we pulled in there for an ice cream for the kids and so Jason could ask a local about what bait to use and where he could fish.

Even on low tide it looks beautiful.

He ended up getting some more worms and some cockles. We had never used the cockles before so was keen to give it a go, so back to the van we went to get all the gear and put on some sunscreen. I would like to say we had a successful time fishing off their jetty but that would be a big fat lie. We didn’t even get one bite, but we at least saw a stingray and some of the locals launch their nice big boats, one using a tractor.

Our bait - did not make us successful.

High hopes.

At least Hamish had fun with the shells.

Typical tug for a boat.

We then returned to the van to hang out the load of washing and to put on another one. Only took me six loads to catch up! I then went for a walk to see how easily we could access the beach and it was a nice short, easy one hundred metres from our site. Had a nice quiet afternoon and met our neighbours behind us who come down here every year (live about a 2 ½ hour drive north). It took forever to get the kids to sleep but we were pretty relaxed about it as Jason was watching the tennis and I was reading my book so they just did their own thing for a while.

All refreshed the next morning we decided to head out and explore the Innes National Park which is just down the road from where we are staying. Of course as we drive into the Information Centre there is a sign about buying your passes online. We of course ignore it, assuming we could buy our pass at the centre. Naturally we were wrong as the Information Centre was closed, but luckily had a computer out the front which we could use to buy our day pass. Obviously there was no printing ability so couldn’t display anything on the dash, but if we were approached at least we could show them the email.

The drive into the park.

There seemed to be quite a number of stops along the road so we thought we would head to the furtherest point and work our way back. Being only 23km away we didn’t think this would take too long, but then the majority of the road is 40km/hr with it eventually increasing to 60km/hr. Hmm was going to take a bit longer than we thought. So we decided to break up the slow drive by calling into Ethel Beach which has the shipwreck of the boat ‘Ethel’. We were taken back by the beautiful view down onto the beach.

Was not expecting this rugged coastline.

Looking down on the shipwreck.

In memory of the two ships that had wrecked in the area.

To be honest we didn’t think the kids would be up for going down but they were so keen and wanted to take their buckets and spades too. So off we went, down all the stairs to the beach, and no I did not count the stairs this time. It was so amazing looking back up the cliffs and you really felt sorry for the people who were on the ship when it was washed ashore. It would have certainly been a hard climb out. The kids had a bit of a play on the beach before starting the climb back up. I thought we would have to carry one child up each, but Hamish stormed ahead and was at the top in no time. I was obviously a bit slower as I was carrying Kayla up. I think Hamish is really improving in his ability to walk a bit longer without complaint.

Making our way down.

Not much left of the old ship.

Just stunning.

Now to go all the way back up.

From there we headed further west and called into the West Cape which had a lighthouse you could walk to but we decided we didn’t need to see another lighthouse and we weren’t going to push the kids to do the walk. There was another beautiful beach but again it wasn’t suitable for swimming as all the warning signs made it pretty clear so we decided to continue onto Dolphin Beach as it sounded nice and relaxing. By now our nice smooth bitumen was replaced with a hard corrugated road and by the time we pulled into the carpark we were hoping it was going to be worth it. It was amazing and so sheltered and peaceful.

Yep don't think we will be swimming here.

As you walked down there were two old beach shacks to the right. I could just imagine people staying there and having the place to themselves for the majority of the time with just the odd tourist popping in for a visit. The kids had a bit of a play on the beach but I was mindful of the time as it was getting closer to lunch and we thought it was best to head back to the caravan before the kids got too hungry. So we started the trip back with the kids making their funny noises as we bumped along the road.

Dolphin Beach.

Chasing the seagulls on Dolphin Beach.

Next thing I hear Jason say ‘jeepers’ and pull over in a hurry. I was wondering what had happened or if something was wrong with the car. He then kindly points out a large spider making its way up our dash board! So being the spider lovers that we are, we should have realistically just killed it but instead we tried to flick it out of the car. This did not work and it ran back under the dash board on the driver’s side. Jason wasn’t too keen about driving home then knowing the spider was in there somewhere and could reappear at any given moment!

Our friend who came along for the ride.

We made one final stop at Pondalowie Bay which seems very popular with heaps of boats pulled in and people camping there. I went for a walk as Kayla was asleep and Jason wanted to see if he could flush out our little spider friend. It looked quite pretty and there were rock areas that you could see kids enjoying exploring. I returned to the car and swapped with Jason so he could see the sights and also to get an update on the spider search. He had no luck, so naturally our car got a bit of a fumigation when we returned to camp.

So many places to discover.

By now the wind had started to pick up and the weather cooled down so we cooked up some fritters for lunch and tried to rest. We even had to pack up the awning as the wind was starting to get too strong for our liking and we didn’t want any damage. It really wasn’t weather for the kids to be playing outside but everything they wanted to do inside seemed to just make a big mess. Jason took them out to the playground for a bit before I realised we needed to get some milk so off we went to get some (I drove). We quickly dropped it back to the van before heading back into the Innes National Park.

Well the sign was right.

This time we called in at the Inneston Historic Township which would have been quite big in its day. It had more shops then Marion Bay currently has! We didn’t do the entire walk as it was two kilometres and Hamish didn’t have shoes on, so we were carrying him on our backs. On the way home we stopped at Cable Bay, the lookout for Chinaman’s Hat Island and finally Stenhouse Bay. All looked beautiful but it had certainly cooled down a bit so there was now way we would be going in the water.

We weren't the only ones checking out the old town.

The old tennis court.

We are just really wishing for a nice day of late 20’s to early 30’s in maximum temperature. Just so we could go and enjoy the beach and swim. This certainly hasn’t been the summer weather I was expecting down here. As neither of us were in the mood to cook dinner we headed down to the local tavern for a meal. It has a nice little view of the water but for the price of the meals mine was a little disappointing. Jason really enjoyed his seafood basket, but the prawns I had on top of my overcooked steak were so small you had to wonder if they were of the frozen cocktail sort. Still it was nice not to have to cook and wash up so I should stop complaining.

Wednesday morning saw us washing the remainder of the sheets as the weather wasn’t looking spectacular. It wasn’t raining but it was overcast with a slight breeze so a bit cool to do much. Hamish met the little boy Charlie from the camp area behind us and that was it. They hung out together all morning until Charlie and his family went out. Meanwhile Kayla and I baked a cake whilst Jason tried to see if we could have the car’s tow ball capacity upgrade. We can’t which is stupid as they can in South Australia but Queensland won’t do it. So there goes that idea.

In the meantime I had realised we have too much stuff in the van and have started to de-clutter. Hamish alone had ten summer shirts hanging up in his wardrobe when we arrived, plus the one he was wearing and we had 4 days worth of dirty clothes. This is way too much and Kayla is the same, not to mention our own wardrobe that needs a review. As we can travel with the water tanks half full it isn’t a major drama with the weight, but every unnecessary kilo we take out of the van means another litre of water we can carry which just saves us filling up the van before we get to a free camp.

Maybe Jason could see me eyeing off those tennis shoes he packed that really aren’t on my necessary list as he came up with another solution, and that was to move one of the water tanks to the back of the van. Currently we have both between the tow ball and the wheels, putting a lot of weight on the tow ball when they are full. By taking one of them from the front and moving it to behind the wheels we will be effectively moving 80kg to the back of the caravan. This will dramatically reduce the caravan tow ball weight when they are both full and with some smart packing, put us under the limit.

So in order to do this we double checked with our mate from Adelaide Coromal if this was okay to do and that the van would still tow fine. Once we got his tick of approval we searched for a service centre that would do it and also the caravan’s ten thousand kilometre service. Jason found one at Port Lincoln which is on the Eyre Peninsula and they also have Mitsubishi so we can get the car serviced too before heading across the Nullabor. In order to book them in for their work we needed to look at a calendar and try to work everything out. Add into it we start school on Tuesday and then on-air lessons the week after that. Oh and the caravan place ideally wanted to do that sort of work on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday and we wanted the work done as we came into town.

We eventually managed to get our head around it all and are satisfied with it so booked them in and also booked a caravan park at Port Lincoln as we know it is a favourite holiday hotspot. By now Hamish’s friend had gone out for the day and all the washing was done. Even better though, the clouds had gone and there was no wind. So I took the kids down to do a quick beach assessment and it was perfect, so back we came to put on our togs and get everything one needs at the beach.

Setting up at the beach.

Going for a bit of an explore.

Finally loaded up like pack horses we made the one hundred metre walk down to the beach from our caravan and set up camp. The water is so shallow which is perfect for young kids and we all enjoyed lying in the water and building sand castles. Well okay I built the sand castles, my kids seem to prefer destroying them. Jason even got creative and built a sand man. It was just so peaceful and relaxing and there was only one other family down there when we arrived and only one other one joined us. Maybe it has taken us a while but Jason and I realised that we don’t have to go out exploring each day. Sometimes it is nice to just enjoy what is your backyard.

Hamish having a paddle.

Of course Kayla couldn't miss out.

Showing off his little sandman.

Close up of the sandman.

After a very long time we packed it all up as we were getting quite hungry. It doesn’t seem like hard work when you just have to bring the things back such a short distance and can leave them all outside until you are ready to deal with them or clean them down. As naturally the first thing was for the kids to have a shower so they didn’t spread the sand all through the caravan. We just chilled for a while by putting on a DVD for Hamish and Kayla. Although by now Hamish’s mate Charlie was back so they were off again. So Kayla watched the movie with me whilst I read my book and Jason went over to the camp kitchen to watch the tennis.

Two ring ins (I don't know their names), Charlie and Hamish.

Every now and then I would go outside to make sure Hamish was not annoying the neighbours but they were behaving wonderfully and even went down to the playground together. We played a bit of a game of hide and seek before I did up a treasure map for them both. The way they went off and around meant that I really still need to refine my drawing ability, but in the end with a bit of help they got there. Jason and I then took it in turns to complete our daily cardio workout. Before we knew it, it was time to have showers, dinner and then bed. Kayla was exhausted as she has cut out her daytime naps on us, so fell asleep early. The perfect end to a beautiful day.

I didn't have any chocolate cake.

As we had really enjoyed the day before, we decided to do exactly the same thing on Thursday. We started the morning off at our now usual slow pace before making our way down to the beach. We built another sand man before going off exploring a bit more further along the beach. It is just so nice to sit back and relax without having to worry about the kids. This time we packed up and returned to the caravan before we were all famished for lunch. I think we are finally really starting to ease into it more and enjoying this last week of freedom before we start teaching school next week!

I have to admit I spent a bit of time reading up on it all this morning and trying to sort everything out. I think I have my head around it a bit more but then the school emailed me an example itinerary and there were a few things that threw me there. Nothing we can’t handle though. Tomorrow they have a new family’s session which I thought would be good to do to refresh our memory. The down side is it is from 9:00am until 10:30am. This is our ideal travelling time but we thought we might try and get away early and then pull over in one of the towns so I can do the session and Jason can take the kids to a playground or something.

I doubt the caravan park here is going to let us stay later with it being the start of a long weekend. We are also planning to do over a week of unpowered camping so I want to try and be organised and print everything I need tonight before we head off. That way we don’t draw too much from the caravan battery. Our afternoon was spent relaxing around the caravan park and another trip down to the beach as Hamish found out Charlie was down there. The boys had so much fun playing together and they gained another little mate along the way.

By the time it was getting dark I had to drag Hamish away and he was so upset. I had told him we were moving on the next day and he was just devastated that he was leaving Charlie. Inside he told me how he has no friends and was sitting on our bed so upset. Talk about a heart wrenching moment when you start to question if you have done the right thing taking him away from his friends for a year. Mind you after a cuddle and a few minutes of watching TV he was fine. I just hope we run into more families travelling on the road as I know with school holidays coming to an end it is going to be hard to find other kids for him to play with.