Windy and cold in Port Lincoln

Well this would have to be one of the best set out caravan parks I have seen, or where we have been allocated anyway.  The caravan park itself is on a hill down to the ocean and the site we were assigned was tiered with each site being drive through with a nice big cement slab for your awning area.  So needless to say it was an easy place to park and didn’t take long at all to set up and get that first load of washing on.  Mind you of course the brass fitting for the hose was on the long length of hose so after the short length of hose popping off a few times, Jason quickly swapped it over.  I love how it is designed so that we all get a glimpse of the view but our neighbours quickly informed us not to bother putting out the awning.  They had theirs out originally but after a sleepless night had pulled it in.

The view from our site.

It was after lunch by the time we were ready to go out and start exploring some more.  We decided to head into the Lincoln National Park but didn’t really have high expectations as we had been told by a fellow traveller that he was a little disappointed in it.  Of course we still wanted to see it for ourselves as everyone has different opinions and you just never know.  Once we had done the self-registration and paid our $11 entry fee we were off.  Our first stop was a little camping area that wasn’t far off the road.  I would like to know who camps there though as it was rough ground so really to me it could only be a hard floor camper trailer or pop-top van but even then good luck trying to get level.

I certainly wouldn't want to camp here.

Also it wasn’t really anything spectacular in regards to a beach, just a drop over the edge to the water, so maybe the fishing is good.  All I know is that I wouldn’t enjoy a stay here as I would be worried the kids would run over the edge which was at least a 1 ½ metre drop I would guess.  The next stop was for a walk up the hill, but it was too long to lug the kids up there.  Mind you they were already a bit over this trip in; maybe we are doing a few too many day trips to National Parks.  So we continued on to another camping area.  This one was accessible for all size rigs and had the allocated sites for everyone.

What a beautiful view from a campsite.

What stood out about it was how protected it was from the wind and was only a short walk to the beach.  Mind you the beach wasn’t breathtaking but it was still pretty and a nice and quiet place to get away to.   By now only one of us was hopping out to see if it was worth getting the whole family out to explore.  The problem with seeing Kangaroo Island and also the Innes National Park, prior to this national park, is that they have kind of set a high standard and we have seen a lot of beaches along the coastline.  We then hit the dirt road and thought we would go right to the end to see the lighthouse.  It wasn’t the smoothest road we had been on but wasn’t the roughest either – at first!

We came across Fisherman’s beach and it must be true to its name as there were quite a lot of people in there camping.  Some of the vans (just small ones only) made us question how on earth they got in there in the first place.  We went for a drive in and around the camp area but no one seemed very welcoming, instead all just looked at us.  I didn’t feel comfortable and just wanted to get out of there.  It probably didn’t help when we drove past and left a small dust trail blowing into people’s campsites!  We started to continue on and by now the road was getting pretty bad with the corrugation and the speed limit in the park was only 40 km/h. 

Fisherman Beach seems to be missing something!

So we decided to turn around.  We hadn’t seen anything that really blew us off our feet and we really probably weren’t in the mood for having a big day out driving.  We have worked out it is better to call it quits before things get really bad, be it the road, the kids going feral or us just being over it.  We are here to have a holiday, not push ourselves to the limit of exhaustion and hopefully there will be another time when we can come back and see everything in more detail.  We have to remember some people have been travelling for years and still haven’t seen everything, so there is no way we can cover everything in a year.

On arriving back at the van, I went to unlock the door and start the massive unload of stuff out of the car.  However as I opened the door it felt a bit odd and when I looked closely at it the bottom hinge had clean snapped off.  We hadn’t even noticed earlier when we locked the door but I am guessing it happened when we were setting up as the kids opened the door and then left it open.  Normally this isn’t a major issue as it only lets in the flies, but as it is so windy here, the wind must have caught the door and swung it back hard.  Lucky for us we could get someone to come to the van to fix it and an hour later it was all fixed up and only cost $29. 

Eventually I decided to go for a walk around and a bit of a sticky beak as you do.  I had seen a big caravan roll in with six wheels, so three axels.  It was a great walk just seeing everyone else’s choice in caravan and tow vehicle and I met a few people.  Not a huge amount as it was so freaking cold that most people were taking shelter in their van.  I found my massive caravan and my golly gosh that thing would not be easy to park in my opinion but did wonder how nice and big it must have looked like inside.  In the camp kitchen, which I was checking out to see how sheltered it was, I met a lovely couple from the Sunshine Coast.

We had a great chat about how it was so cold and that we just can’t seem to escape this windy weather.  They agreed and said how about eighty percent of the travellers they are coming across down here are from Queensland and we are all struggling with the cold.  Well with the one exception of the guy on the other side of us who is from Toowoomba!  It was great to have to chat to them about some of the tours they have done and what they would recommend.  By now I thought I had better get back to our van and let Jason get out and have a walk, so we did the ole tag team so he could get out and I would look after the kids and start showers.

That night I fell asleep listening to the wind and even at one stage could hear the rain hitting my side of the van, but at least the awning was in so I could have a good night’s sleep.  Mind you Kayla woke up in the middle of the night crying so I had to get up to her and then Hamish called out early in the morning saying he was busting so realistically it wasn’t the best night’s sleep I have had.  Still I was keen to get up and get going as we wanted to go to Coffin Bay that day.  Mainly because it wasn’t a school day so we didn’t have to fit that in and also because our friends Ian and Gwen were staying there and that was their last day there before they move further west.

So I was up early and catching up with the blog and slowly the family joined me one by one.  After breakfast Jason packed up the car and got the kids dressed whilst I started a lesson with Hamish.  I knew we had this lesson that I thought would work in with our day so needed to cover the ground basis first and I could finish it off in the afternoon.  It didn’t take long and before we knew it we were on the road to Coffin Bay.  Now we have made the decision not to stay here and this was going to be the interesting test to see if we had made the right or wrong decision. 

Coming into Coffin Bay was nice and our first stop was a lookout over the town.  It was nice but a few of the trees could do with a bit of a trim as it was starting to block what you were there to see.  None the less we weren’t deterred and headed into town.  The town itself is quite sleepy but I would imagine it would be a hive of activity come the holiday season as again there were a lot of holiday homes.  You can see the oyster farms as you drive in and we made a mental note that we must try them before we leave.

Oyster farm in Coffin Bay.

We went looking for a coffee shop but had no success, so returned to the café across from the caravan park.  As I ordered the coffee Jason called Ian and Gwen so once we had morning tea we headed over to say hello.  It was great to catch up again and meet their friends they are now travelling with.  Gwen even took the kids to the playground and helped Kayla up all the play equipment as it wasn’t really suitable for her age group.

Eventually we had to say goodbye as we had already taken up so much of their time and they needed to get out and explore also.  So once we set off we headed straight into the park and of course pulled over for the self-registration.  I had a little panic attack as I wasn’t sure if we had any small notes but luckily we had the right change and even gave some money to help out the people in front of us so they had the right change.  We had high hopes for this National Park and it did not let us down. 

We had already decided we didn’t have enough time to go too far off the beaten track as it was already getting close to lunch time.  So we stopped at the lookout that gave you a wonderful 360 degree view of the surrounding area.  Though I did wish I had bought the map of the local area up to the lookout so I could get my head around more which way was which and the direction of Port Lincoln and so on.  Still the kids loved it and Hamish had his camera out snapping away.  We continued on down the road and decided to turn left instead of right.  I am glad we turned left first as I think if we had just gone right we would have been disappointed to start with.

The kids having some fun.

It was a nice view all the way around.

We followed the road along and there were cliffs down to what looked like beautiful beaches with calm and protected waters which you could see the fishermen out enjoying.  As we got closer there was a pull in area were you could go and check out the beach so we decided to do that on the way back.  Point Avoid Lookout was spectacular how you could see across to the island and the shallower rocks/reef leading the way across.   However as good as that view was, Almonta Beach blew us out of the water.  It was just stunning and the sand was as white as white could be.  If it wasn’t for the overcast and ridiculous wind it would have made for some amazing photos. 

One of the many beaches.

Cliffs over looking the ocean.

It looked like you could nearly walk all the way to the island.

As soon as we saw it we were keen to get out of the car and get down there.  Hamish was very excited too and it was an easy walk down and I think we must have been the first ones there that day as there was not another footprint to be seen on the beach.  We walked right down to the water’s edge and I said to Jason if there is a hot sunny day before we leave we must come back here.  All the normal warning signs were there so it wouldn’t be a beach to go swimming in but I thought a little paddle and a play on the beach would be nice.  That is when we saw the blue bottled jellyfish washed up on the shoreline and well there goes the paddle idea.  It was just too good to be true, but it is a really stunning beach and you can see all the massive sand dunes off in the distance.

Just beautiful.

The kids were having heaps of fun.

We had the place all to ourselves.

Massive sand dunes off in the distance.

On the way back we stopped in at the beach we had seen coming in.  It was called Avoid Bay and I am guessing based on the normal warning signs it was appropriately named.  You could drive down onto this beach and that was how the fishermen had gotten their boats into the water, but we were happy now to just take in the views.  We were also getting quite peckish so thought we would go and check out Yangie Bay before heading back into town.

I think with all the warnings the place seem to be appropriately named!

To be honest I wasn’t overly impressed with the bay area itself and again you could camp here.  I think I was more impressed with the fact that the massive six wheeled caravan I had seen the afternoon before had moved here.  Of course the drive in was easy, but where they had parked it was impressive as I would have thought it might have been a bit hard to get into there, but obviously not.  It was a quiet and sheltered spot so great spot to get away and unwind.

Before we knew it we were back in town, and not a moment too soon as the kids were getting over it.  We pulled into the same café and ordered our ever so healthy lunch of fish, calamari, chips, fresh oysters and Kilpatrick oysters before taking it down to the playground area to eat.  Once there we had a good thirty or so seagulls just watching every bite we took and we had to make sure one of us stayed with the food at all times otherwise it would be lost to these scavengers.  Mind you Kayla did enjoy chasing them around.

Our yummy lunch.

Watching sailing boats go around in the sheltered waters.

Jason and I really loved the oysters and the people are right, there is nothing like fresh Coffin Bay Oysters.  So with our tummies full and the kids having gotten out and had a good play we headed back to Port Lincoln for some much needed rest and relaxation.  Quite a few more vans had arrived by now and Jason met a family across from us.  They are a month into their year trip of travelling Australia and are also doing Distance Ed, but their kids are older.  I was kind of jealous when they could sit back and watch their kids playing on the playground down at the bottom of the hill. 

Still Jason took the kids down to the playground for a play but was back within five minutes as apparently it was freezing down there, so once they all had their jumpers on back down they headed.  I enjoyed the peace and quiet and read a magazine for a while before starting to make a cuppa for afternoon tea (mind you it was 5pm).  After our afternoon tea, I decided to go and do my exercise for the day so took Kayla out in the pram for a walk to give Jason a rest.  This was a great idea until half way through the walk I realised she was asleep! 

Trying to use up their energy.

I knew that wasn’t good, having a daughter napping at 6pm in the afternoon, but what could I do.  So we headed back and I put her down in bed just praying for a miracle that she would sleep all night.  Jason then went out and did his exercise whilst I printed out everything we needed for the week of on air lessons and some school items.  Kayla woke up not long after Jason got back and she was not a happy girl.  It took her a while to properly wake up and stop screaming.  Then she was a hive of activity until late at night.  I do think she finally fell asleep before the end of the tennis final, but when I moved her back to her bed she woke again and wouldn’t go back to sleep unless I was lying next to her!  Eventually I dragged myself back to our bed hoping to get a good night’s sleep.  I didn’t but that was just my brain over thinking about everything or having bad dreams, I don’t really remember but I have decided no more port before bed. 

Monday we didn’t really do much at all as we had the car booked in for a major service which took pretty much the entire day so we just focused on school and met some more lovely people staying in the caravan park.  One of them kindly dropped Jason down when it came time to pick up the car.  This day also gave us the chance to organise ourselves a bit and work out what we are going to do on each of the days we have left.  Working around school of course! 

A ship being loaded with grain.

Hamish discovering an hidden step.

The weather looks worse than what it actually was.