Along the Seafood Frontier
My Fitbit alarm for 7 am was not needed. We were up and moving a little before that time. Breakfast, morning puzzles, social media, and packing were done and we were off just before 8 am.
Majella had found a bakery where she hoped to buy fresh bread. That was back in town but just a few kilometres deviation from our route. I drove there but she found they nothing better than plain white bread. Woolworths, where we shopped yesterday, was just up the street. I drove there and waited while Majella bought bread, a good grain loaf, and yoghurt.
Our destination today was Coffin Bay via Lincoln National Park. I drove us out of town and down the Eyre Highway past Whyalla to Cowell, our first stop, about two hours away. The country along the way was mostly flat with just an occasional low hill. Large areas appeared to be covered uniformly in grey saltbush but there were scattered patches of of low scrub.
At Cowell we parked adjacent to a boardwalk that went out a little way over the mangroves. We made and drank coffee there and then went for a short walk on the boardwalk before driving on south. Cowell has many fine old stone buildings and we saw a few of those as we drove in and out.
As I drove on south we passed Arno Bay and Port Neill. The highways in these parts are almost universally marked as 110 km/h but today there were long stretches marked down to 80 km/h for roadworks that were not happening on Saturday. That slowed our progress a little. The countryside south of Cowell seemed more fertile and there were large swathes of cultivated land either side of the road.
I drove around the edge of Port Lincoln to reach the Lincoln National Park which occupies most of the peninsula south east of the town. At the park entrance I paused and bought our online pass before driving as far as the sealed road would take us. We had one short stop along the way in to explore the beach at Horse Rock camping ground. We drove in and out of Stamford Hill day visitor area and on to the nearby camping ground at the end of the sealed road.
There had been a couple of heavy showers of rain as we drove south and there were still some dark clouds about. We hesitated about walking far lest we be caught in the rain but our luck held then and later. The most we ever felt when out of the van was a light sprinkling.
After walking down to the beach for a look we had lunch – fresh bread, ham, tomato, and cheese with coffees – in the van. Then we walked back to the beach area and a short distance along the track to Spalding Cove. On the way back we walked down to a rocky point for a closer look. There were birds, mostly galahs, and flowers along the way.
I had checked fuel prices earlier and knew that we were best to fill up in Port Lincoln rather than Coffin Bay, our destination for the night. We found a service station on the edge of Port Lincoln and filled up with diesel there before driving on.
The countryside as we approached Coffin Bay was quite different from what we had driven through earlier in the day. There was cultivation and the bush land areas had sizeable trees rather than the shrubby scrub we had been seeing most of the day.
As we approached Coffin Bay we paused at a lookout. It offered views over the inlet but trees obscured much of the nearer areas. We passed the caravan park as we entered Coffin Bay but continued on around the esplanade which was lined by some impressive houses. At the end of the esplanade we found the entrance to the Coffin Bay National Park.
I paused at the information area as we entered the park and we considered how far we might drive. It was 4 pm and we did not want to be too late setting up camp. I drove a short way in around some well covered sand dunes and found a space where I could turn. As we left we parked where we could access the beach and went down for a look.
On the way back through town we stopped at the local store so Majella could ask about where she might find seafood. Oyster HQ, opposite the caravan park, was recommended. When I asked at checkin for the park it was recommended again. And it was just across the road from our campsite.
As soon as we had parked Majella was across the road to see if we could get a booking. They had a full night but there would be space outside. Despite her dislike of cold she was happy to accept though they did suggest space might open up inside.
We walked some way from there along the waterfront Oyster Trail watching the birds on the water and in the trees that lined the track. It wound past holiday houses most of which appeared unoccupied at present.
Back at camp we completed setup and relaxed a while. Just before 6 pm we walked across the road to Oyster HQ and were pleased to find they had an inside table for us. Majella had seen advertisements for flights of gin and decided to try one – three different locally made gins with garnishes, ice and tonic water. I settled for a pale ale though I did sniff and sample a couple of the gins. Our meals from the tapas menu were prawn hotpot for Majella and panko crumbed prawns with coriander, ginger and lime dip for me. They were delicious but small enough that we had room for hot fudge brownies with ice cream for dessert. I added a black coffee.
By 7 pm we were back at the van and relaxing for the evening. It was only late this afternoon that I discovered we were following the Seafood Frontier touring route which runs down the Eyre Peninsula and around the south coast to Ceduna, our destination for tomorrow.
