Our Big Trip of OZ - 24/09/11 - ~16/01/12: Thurs 27th Oct – Tues 1st Nov

Thurs saw us travel 270km to Whyalla on the eastern Eyre Peninsula S.A. After 6 days of camping with no power it was time to check in to a tourist park and re-charge, re-stock and have a decent long shower. Well did we choose a great spot…not!!!! Thinking that being on the foreshore with sea views was ideal after coming from the desert, was a great idea if you just got rid of the wind (hence the town is known as windy Whyalla). The first day was beaut, but the next 2 days were howling. We had to stay there as there was no way we could pack the camper up in the winds. We had pulled out the awning and bed flys as rains were forecast (which ended up being a few showers) and at least we now know the awing can handle such a gale. All Karen could say was “thank goodness for a great camp kitchen” because that was where we cooked and ate our meals along with doing extra baking because it had an ‘oven’.

The wind did not totally spoil our stay. Took the boys on an awesome tour of the Steelworks – largest in the country – good schooling for the boys and tested my ability to explain it all to them. Thank goodness the boys sat next to an exworker of the works who was able to offer them extra guidance so now they “kind-of” know how railway tracks are made.

We also went to a local market that was totally different to our local markets. Not only did it have a huge amount of high quality craft (what else do the ladies have to do in Whyalla!!!), there was something for the boys……off-road remote control car racing. This kept the boys occupied while Karen had a bo-peep around the stalls. You just never know what you will find!!!

We were glad to leave windy Whyalla and head down to Port Lincoln at the bottom of Eyre Peninsula. First thing we notice in this area are the massive wheat silos at various towns, where all the wheat & barley is delivered from farms in the area. Pt Lincoln is famed for the seafood & the highest millionaire population per capita in Oz.

We headed straight to Lincoln NP to find a camp spot. (we have a S.A national parks pass, hence, the tendency to camp at as many as we can…J ) We settled on an absolute pearler location for the next 3 nights bush camping, and then explored other areas of the park (4wd tracks etc), headed over to Coffin Bay for a look (another beautiful spot), checked out the marina with all the flash houses etc, and the big fishing boats. The Fisherman seem to be the wealthy ones down here!!

Had to sample the fresh fish, King George Whiting, for dinner one night. It was so good, we had more for lunch the day we left.