McCulloch Family Giant Leap: Making our way to the start of the Nullarbor

Well it felt weird packing up after staying in one place for a week but whilst we enjoyed our time in Port Lincoln the weather wasn’t the kindest to us and we had definitely done everything we wanted to. Also I think I felt the place was a bit cursed with our bad luck with the hot water system. Deep down I knew that was not the case but I guess it just felt like it was time to move on. We had decided to only go 171km up the road to Elliston as there was a clifftop drive Jason really wanted to do. The drive there was all good, only having to stop once for a toilet break.

Jason and I kept joking that there wasn’t much scenery and it was a bit of a boring drive. This cracked us up as in reality there was heaps to see and hello, we are going to be doing the Nullarbor at the end of this week so we had better get use to it. Only twenty or so kilometres out of Elliston we noticed this cloud following the hills to our left, and it seemed to be getting darker in patches. Of course it is fire season so naturally we wondered what on earth we were driving into. All the cars and caravans we were passing weren’t flashing us or anything so we just continued. It seemed to be getting worse the closer we got to Elliston.

Just driving along - getting a little less to look at.

Then a little less again.

As we pulled into the caravan park Jason told me to ask about the fires and if they were close we would move on to where it was more safe. Honestly when I asked the caravan park manager he gave me the strangest look. I then explained the clouds (thinking he has no idea what is going on) and then he laughs and explains they are coastal fog clouds! I have seen fog before, but these ones had more of a darker brown tone to them. Just different, and I explained how we were from Queensland and had never seen anything like that before. Once I had paid for our site I was waiting for the usual directions to our allocated site and the list of rules that you are normally handed. To my surprise he told us to pick whatever site we wanted and that was that. This park is like an oasis in the desert. I haven’t seen beautiful green grass sites like this for so long.

Toilet stop along the way. Lucky we carry one behind us.

Made it to our destination.

So of course we naturally picked the easiest one which was actually two sites but hey we took up both. I mean there were a few vans around but surely they wouldn’t fill up. Once we were unhooked and setting up I suddenly noticed a line-up of caravans waiting to check in. Hmm maybe we had taken up too much space so I just double checked with the owner and he wasn’t the slightest bit worried. We were working really well as a team to set up but for some reason I couldn’t get the forth leg to wind down. I asked Jason to have a go but no luck. So great, our bad luck had followed us. Jason did a quick post on the Coromal Owners Facebook group and we decided to get out and explore the Elliston area.

The visitor information centre is in the old building that has the largest mural in Australia and it is impressive. The painting itself is wonderful but I loved reading about the story and the meaning behind it all. We then headed straight out to the Elliston Clifftop drive. Oh my gosh, if you are ever down this way you have to do it. The drive itself is not long at all but the views that you get from it are just amazing, and again I don’t feel our photos do it justice at all. There are also random pieces of artwork scattered along the road which really make it a wonderful detour and worth the stop.

The combination of old and new.

At the start of the cliff top drive.

The first lookout and sculpture.

The view of the rugged coastline.

One of the old homesteads and governess who they believe the town is named after.

From there we returned to the van where Jason had received a response with tips regarding our caravan leg. So as he set about pulling it apart I did a school session with Hamish. Yes it is a Saturday but there is nothing wrong with getting a few under our belts on the days off so then when we are driving on a school day we don’t fall behind. Jason managed to pull it all apart and true to the tip, there was a small piece of gravel in there which was preventing it from winding down. So with that removed it was just a matter of putting it back on. A simple task and he was so proud when he had finished, until he realised he had put it on back to front. So a few more quick minutes of work and it was back and in working order! I think by the end of this trip Jason could easily get a job in caravan repairs.

Mr fix it.

Still it was nice to have that one sorted and we learnt something new today. We quickly knocked over another school session and packed up the car to try our luck fishing down at the beach not far away. It is a very beautiful beach and we walked a long way along to a spot the caravan park owner had told Jason to try his luck fishing. I happily sat in the sun shelter whilst the kids played in the water and sand and Jason fished. He caught a few little ones that the kids loved looking at and playing with before throwing back.

Jason pulling in a fish.

Kayla checking out the fish.

The keeper.

After a while I thought I might as well join him for a fish. The only problem was I wasn’t really dressed for it and you had to wade out to above your knees. So my pants got saturated but luckily it was a lovely warm day so the water was perfect. We caught quite a few little ones but were about to admit defeat when I reeled in a King George Whiting that was big enough to keep. Jason was so impressed as he had wanted to catch one of these since we got to South Australia. I felt a bit guilty that I got one but at least we would be having fish for dinner, be it entrée size. Still we hung around for a bit longer hoping to add to our haul. It did not happen.

Still we were happy we had a fish that we could eat so we packed up and headed home. We had an awesome time at the beach, but when we get back to the van it is the normal chaos of trying to keep the van clean of sand and get the kids quickly washed. This obviously couldn’t happen as we hadn’t turned on the gas heater for the hot water system so had to turn that on and wait for it to heat up. Of course then we hadn’t thought to actually turn on the gas at the front of the van, so once we did that it was what felt like an even longer wait until we could feel clean. Still we got there and the four of us shared our fish and we all really enjoyed it.

It is really tempting to stay here in Elliston even longer but we know we must keep moving as we can’t delay doing the Nullarbor forever. Still I highly recommend stopping in here and the grass sites are such a welcome change from gravel and cement we have had since leaving Adelaide. The park also has a pool and jumping pillow. Two things we haven’t seen for a long time. During the night we had to get up to pack up the awning as it was blowing a bit and for once it wasn’t keeping me up, but instead poor Jason.

So as you can imagine the next day was started rather slowly but we eventually got moving. I had a feeling that it was going to be one of those days, maybe just based on the last two days, and so was a bit uneasy. We also realised we didn’t have enough fuel to get us all the way to Streaky Bay so would need to fuel up along the way, so another stop to make. However we worked out we had plenty to get us to Venus Bay which is where we had planned to unhook the caravan and go back and check out some caves. We had read that the road was good, however we were not keen to take our on-road caravan down it as it would be a very slow trip and we had nothing to protect the car and caravan from any stones that might fly up.

Once in Venus Bay we pulled up and decided to have some morning tea at the café. Jason asked if we could leave the caravan somewhere whilst we checked out the caves. She didn’t seem overly helpful so we just thought we would anyway as surely they aren’t going to mind for about an hour. However as we were enjoying our yummy cakes and scones we asked one of the locals and she lived right across the road and said to park it out the front of her place. She said it would be perfectly safe and they wouldn’t mind at all. So with that we thanked her, went and unhitched, fuelled up and headed out to the caves.

Pulled up in Venus Bay.

It wasn’t too far out of town and it certainly was impressive. You go down the cliff edge by the steps and are let loose on some rocks to walk around and check out the caves and a bit of the coastline. Mind you I was keen to keep a close eye on the kids as the last thing I wanted was for one of them to slip into the water and then be washed out to sea. So I didn’t even put Kayla down on the ground and had a tight hold on Hamish’s hand. The boys walked a bit into the cave but then Hamish tried to come out and slipped a bit. Nothing major but it was enough for me to decide it was best to take the kids back up to the top.

Before we headed down.

Looking into the caves.

Was certainly not putting Kayla down.

An interesting place to explore (without young kids).

The second stop which is called the Tub was a big rock hole in the ground that would obviously fill up with water and look like a wash tub, but obviously at the moment the water was not high enough. So back to Venus Bay we headed, hitched on the caravan and continued on our journey. It is a peaceful little community with stunning views, but I think unless you have a boat to go out fishing or just like to sit back and read a book there wouldn’t be much more to do. On the way to Streaky Bay we passed the turn off to the Haystacks which is a natural rock formation. Even though it is only 2km off the road we decided to leave it for now and come back with a picnic dinner as it was only 40km back to them from Streaky Bay.

The Tub.

We arrived in Streaky Bay and checked into the caravan park as it was going to be a lot more comfortable doing a few school lessons with the air conditioner on! So we did a few lessons before heading out to check out the town. The town comes off a bit dusty as you drive in, but it is pretty overlooking the bay and was a bit bigger than we thought it would be. We went and checked out the largest shark ever caught on a hand line. I am amazed that someone could reel this thing in, yet survive it as honestly the shark was huge!

I personally would of cut the line!

The kids showing her size.

Then Hamish wanted to play dead as if it had gotten them.

By now our day was coming to an end so we headed back to the van but decided to do a lap of the caravan park to check out everyone else’s setup. Hey there is nothing wrong with having a sticky beak. In the end it payed off for us as we came across another Coromal van, the same make as ours but I noticed they had switched over their hot water system (you can tell by the outside vent). So I jumped out of the car and asked them about it. Of course I then realised I needed to explain why this odd stranger was asking about it. Well didn’t I open a can of worms as there were two separate groups there that had experienced issues with their Truma hot water systems! So they explained what they had done and who to talk to at the Mandurah Coromal repair place. It is a terrible thing but I feel relieved that we are not the only ones who have experienced this issue and there looks to be a decent long term solution.

Keen to get out and see the haystacks we all had showers, cooked dinner and packed up everything we needed for our picnic. The drive back out to the Haystacks took forever but it was worth it when we arrived. There were a few other backpackers there who how obviously set up for the night as you can free camp there. It would certainly be a lovely view to wake up to but the wind would probably keep you up all night. We enjoyed our dinner overlooking the rocks before packing up and walking up the trail to check them out a bit closer.

Walking to the shelter that was a bit more protected.

Enjoying our picnic.

The view that we had whilst having dinner.

It is pretty amazing how they form and just stand out on top of the hill overlooking what seems like endless hay fields with the odd sheep here and there. We really enjoyed our walk around them but the wind was starting to pick up more and the kids were getting cold so we headed back. Our plan was that the kids would fall asleep on the way home and trust me we tried. We put Wiggles on and everything but nothing worked and they were still awake when we got home. So much for an easy night of getting them to bed! So we called it quits and returned to the van, put them in their PJs and shut up the van to make it dark and slowly we won the battle to get them to sleep.

You can see Jason and the kids at the bottom.

Checking them out.

Family shadow photo.

Just stunning.

Love this photo.

We plan to get up early and get to Ceduna in time for Hamish’s on-air lesson at 10am. Of course we refuse to set an alarm clock – I mean we are only holidays so why would we do that! We would wake up with plenty of time to pack up and get on the road!