At the end of January we bid a sad farewell to Sarah and Pete and headed off to Pondalowie Bay, which is situated in the Innes National Park at the bottom of Yorke Peninsula. We have both been there as youngsters long before we met - it is a well known surfing spot. On the way there was a large noise behind us which turned out to be one of the kitchen cupboard’s door coming off its hinges and falling onto the floor!!! Left like that as not something Mark could fix. Also along the way the fridge started beeping as it could not be closed properly. A latch on the door seemed to be the problem. Mark’s fix was a pole from one side of the kitchen to the fridge door which worked a treat except we had to crawl under it or do the limbo to get to the toilet, shower or bedroom and dismantle it every time we wanted to use the fridge!!
Mark’s nephew James decided to come as well but travelled independently in his 4 wheel drive with a swag for sleeping!! We arrived much later than James who by this time was out fishing. Set up our campsite and waited for sundowners ie a drink while awaiting on James for dinner. We get a phone call close to 9pm- just light due to daylight saving. He is wanting the boom gate code but there was no boom gate into the park. Turns out he has driven past us and gone into the nearby town of Marion Bay as thought we were staying in the caravan park there!! Needless to say it was a late night after chat and dinner! Luckily a breeze had sprung up and the night was cool enough to sleep including James in his swag. Not that he slept much as the stars were apparently amazing putting on a show for him.
The next day was hot (39 max) without a breath of wind. No surf. So we packed up the car with water, food, sun block hats, beach tent and chairs, fishing gear etc and ended up at West Cape a beautiful long stretch of beach which sadly is only accessible by a very long walk down steep paths and steps! Loaded up like a pack horse, I could only think of the walk back up! Where were those donkeys like you see on Santorini! Spent hours on the beach in our shade with numerous dips in the refreshingly cold water. Due to rips and largish waves could not go out far! Surf still not right apparently though boogie boarders were having fun. James happily fished down one end of the beach and caught enough for our dinner!! Prior to this as it was still very hot we spent the last remaining hours of the day at another beach, another walk down a steep hill, where Mark and I snorkelled (not much to see) and swam and James fished. A wind had sprung up at the camp site so before leaving we had reinforced the awning and annex, but unfortunately we got back to find the annex in disarray and part of the awning broken. Another thing to fix! It was still very hot for sleeping- we have a small fan which helped and James kept his swag open except for insect protection. A storm came through with rain so he had to do up the swag- sadly he left a bit open so he was not only hot but wet! No sleep this night. We had offered him a bed inside with us but he declined – goodness know why!! We don’t bite only snore!
The following morning we awoke to rain. We all decided to leave- James set off for a last fish and we packed up as well, discovering that the awning was well and truly broken and would need replacing. Headed to Wallaroo further up the west coast of Yorke Peninsula for the night where the road inside the caravan park was covered in water. Not deterred by the weather, a young boy on a scooter in his budgie smugglers with gumboots was scooting around in the water! Here we heard from the caravan park owner that the best place to get repairs for Arvi was in Port Pirie. We contacted the owner who ordered in a new awning and latch for the fridge with the plan to be in Port Pirie a week later.
Feeling somewhat better but still having to crawl under the pole, we travelled slightly east to meet up with our friends Bruce and Sue in the Clare Valley best known for its wine, particularly the white variety! B and S have a van they use for camping and we all stayed in a caravan park in the small town of Auburn. Small town but not short of good food. The first night a restaurant with a great chef where we dined choosing his tasting menu of delicious small plates ….. The second night was the local pub- Sue and I had lovely meals of pork and duck respectively while the boys had schnitzels – typical. The highlight of or time there was riding the Riesling Trail on our bikes. The trail is an old railway line converted into a path which meanders through vineyards, small towns and past farms and luckily for us is not too arduous – although we do have the advantage of electric bikes! B and S are serious bike riders! We stopped at a couple of wineries and had a lovely picnic lunch at Sevenhills which is a winery started by the Jesuits many years ago. They still make a red and a white sacramental wine!!The second day we used the van to get around stopping for lunch at one of our old favourites Skillagalee for lunch and then Pikes another favourite. This time we could buy up on wine as had Arvi to store it!!
We then travelled north to the small historic town of Melrose, which is the gateway to Flinders Ranges. Had a fantastic campsite by the creek bed with many river gums around us. Only one other couple in the park. At dusk a host of cockatoos and galahs circled around squawking and calling out to each other as they decided which trees to settle in for the night. Many false starts then they would fly off again only to return a few minutes later for another go! In the morning they woke us up very early at sunrise. Cooked our breakfast watched by a couple of magpies and a kookaburra who flew down very close to us to pick up some scraps we put on a log. Next stop was Mambray Creek where we stayed in the national park – very isolated and no one else there!! Cooked marinated salmon on cedar planks (given to us by B as S ) in the Weber – very nice! Stayed up late with the music blaring and us dancing away pretending we were young!!
We headed to Port Pirie where we were getting the repairs done to Arvi – although Bruce who is an excellent handyman had already fixed the kitchen door which had fallen off! There we said farewell to B and S who headed back to Adelaide for babysitting duties but not before we had found a fresh fish place and ordered a few oysters to eat!! And a bakery for coffee and rolls. Next day we arrived at the caravan repair place and the awning was replaced. We rode our bikes to the library where it was airconditioned and I could catch up on my blog at their computers while Mark read his book. We also visited Shakka Sharkie – a small museum with a fibreglass replica of a large white pointer shark which was caught locally. Learnt a lot about these sharks and hope we never meet one!! Returned to pick up Arvi with his new awning but sadly the latch for the fridge had not arrived. We left an express post envelope for it to be forwarded to Port Lincoln where we were staying for a few days! Travelled onto Whyalla, an industrial town where my Mum and Dad lived for a few years, Dad being the superintendent of the hospital. I went to work as a nurse for about 8 weeks doing nights to save money before heading to the UK.
And that’s probably the end of the Yorke Peninsula as next stop was Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula. Slowly heading west!! Still climbing under or over the pole!
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