Turf to Surf

 

Saturday 13 August 2022 – Turf to Surf                                                                                                                         

We were in no hurry to get out of bed as it had been really cold overnight .  In addition we had done most of the pack up last night just in case it rained overnight.  We therefore drove in a leisurely fashion out of Wudinna and at a speed that meant we got maximum fuel efficiency and didn’t get to Streaky Bay too early.

We stopped at Poochera thinking we would revive their economy by purchasing a coffee from their general store/cafe but Poochera unfortunately didn’t have this so we wandered around their little outdoor museum instead which featured a giant ant structure with a signboard telling you about the local dinosaur ants, various pieces of old farming equipment  and the dwelling of the local hermit, Peter, who had built his shack out of old, flattened kerosene tins.  It was pretty small and cramped and only really suited on person.  No wonder he was doomed to be a hermit.

Having explored everything Poochera had to offer us, we trundled on and into to Streaky Bay.  What a lovely town overlooking the very calm bay, with lots of lovely old limestone cottages and all the shops, community facilities, schools etc needed to make it a very liveable town.  I would imagine a great number of farmers from the nearby rural areas happily retire here.  Even though it was only 10.30ish the caravan park was happy for us to check in and found us two waterfront sites together.   We set up and admired our view but still ended up having early lunch inside the vans due to the bitterly cold wind blowing and the still overcast conditions (although there was no rain at least).

We then decided to do a couple of the scenic loops just west of Streaky Bay. The first was the Cape Bauer loopwhich tookus around the top end of the peninsula past some whistling rocks and blow holes and some pretty spectacular coastal scenery. Hendrik was a bit miffed that after cleaning all the mudoff his car after the Gawler Ranges that we were back on the wet gravel splashing through puddles and mud again.  

We then headed to the southern end of the peninsulaand did the Westall Way loop where we stopped for rockhopping and afternoon tea at Smooth Pool. The map says this is a good swimming spot but that wasn’t something we contemplated as, although the sun is shining quite a lot this afternoon, the icy wind still cuts through and therefore BOM says this like “17 degrees but feels like 8”.  We continued around the cliffs with stops at various spots like Granites. High Cliff and  Tractor Beach.  There’s a campground there which was reminiscent of Milligan Island campsite near Jurien Bay. A few brave souls were camping there but I imagine being close to a beach etc would be a much more attractive proposition in summer.

We decided that that was enough sight seeing for the afternoon and headed back into town where we all decided it made more sense to eat out tonight instead of tomorrow night as the wind and temperature were not conducive to cooking and eating outside.

We therefore headed to the Streaky Bay pub for dinner which was doing pretty good business for a Saturday night and it was warm and inviting.  Seeing as we are on the Eyre Peninsula Jenny had no choice but to have the seafood platter which consisted of two natural oysters (from nearby Smoky Bay), two oysters kilpatric, smoked salmon, salt and pepper squid, two prawns and two pieces of locally caught King George whiting all served with chips and slaw.  Very yummy and a valiant effort was made (with only a few chips and half a piece of fish left at the end) and all washed down with a South Australian rose.

Back to the vans where we r-watched the Eagles/Dockers derby from the beginning on Kayo and were happy with how the boys played in the first half.  Not so happy with the second half and therefore Jenny left to have a long, hot shower in the amenities block instead.    Resigned to the fate of another Eagles loss Larry did the same shortly afterwards. And so week 4 of our our holiday comes to an end.