From The East Coast to Salt Lakes........

We said goodbye to the koalas this morning and drove into Port Lincoln for a final look before starting our journey up the East Coast of the Eyre Peninsula.  It was another glorious morning and the view over Boston Bay was lovely.

We drove on stopping next at Tumby Bay, another little coastal town just 30 mins on from Port Lincoln.  We stopped at the foreshore before driving in search of the Mangroves.  We had read in the tourist blurb that here we would find the 'most southern stand of Mangroves' in SA.  

We enjoyed the walk out along the boardwalk and Nature Trail but the council workers using machinery along the road kept the Birdlife away.  Leaving the mangroves we drove around town where we found a lovely little park right on the coast.  We had lunch here and soon Bill was playing with the many birds that also had the same idea.

After lunch we drove on to Port Gibbon where we set up camp right beside the beach.  Just us, the birds, the waves and a beautiful sunset.  What a lovely way to end another pleasant day on the road.

The next morning was not as nice as the previous day and the very cold and windy weather saw us breakfast inside and leave the beach fairly quickly.  Back on the main road we made our way to Cowell where we braved the cool weather for a walk along the Main Street.

A visit to the loos here was surprising with a very quirky way of selling the local artwork.  I'm not sure how much they sell but if it works stick with it!

'Crap Art' sees local artists display their paintings on the walls of the facilities and if you would like to buy these you leave your money in the envelopes together with the number of the painting.  Very enterprising I must say.

A little further along the street I was taken with the sign outside the butchers shop.  And I must say I agree wholeheartedly.

We walked down to the jetty and found another Boardwalk over a much larger stand of Mangroves.  We braved the wind and showers and walked out to the end but were soon on our way back to the shelter of the Main Street passing this colourful mosaic made by the Primary School students along the way.  

Back in the car we set off again this time to leave the East Coast of the Eyre Peninsula and head inland to Kimba where we were going to spend the night at The Recreation Grounds camp site.

This is a fabulous free camp with spotless facilities and hot showers.  $1.00 gets you three mins of wonderful hot water and after last night on the beach this was just what we needed.  The camp ground filled up that night with many travellers heading back home after their school holiday adventures.  

We took a walk around the town and found a very tidy 'suburb' seemingly in the middle of nowhere.  We passed the murals on the Showground walls as we walked back home and I particularly like the 'Sheep Wrecked'.   

The next morning we said goodbye to our very comfortable campsite and made our way up to Whites Knob Lookout to see the sculptures of Edward John Eyre and his Aboriginal guide. These stunning figures are an artistic tribute to the intrepid explorer and the Indigenous men whose bush skills he so often relied on.  

Leaving here we drove on to Lake Gillies National Park which was to be our home for the next two days.  We found a nice spot just a short walk away from the large Salt Lake and settled in for a couple of days of peace perfect peace.  

Bill was kept busy here with some cheeky Babblers he found building a nest nearby. They kept him entertained for some time.

Leaving a couple of days later we made our way back to the bitumen and drove on to Port Augusta and civilization once more. We had not stopped here on our way across to Perth so were going to remedy that now and spend a couple of days seeing what Port Augusta has to offer.  It was time to do the washing again so we booked in for two days at the Shoreline Caravan Park right beside the Spencer Gulf. 

So right now there's work to be done so I'll leave it here for now.

until next time.........