Yorke Peninsula

We woke a little before 7 am feeling cold. Yesterday afternoon had been warm but it cooled off in the evening and we could not find the electric heater we had paid to have included. The air conditioner had a heat setting but once we had dealt with the business of the day we went to bed early and warmed up under the doona. Now we were regretting having stored the second doona (our van is 3 berths) under our bed. I crawled out, turned the air conditioner on heat and crawled back under the doona.

Eventually the air conditioner did its job and we got out into a tolerable temperature. It was 9 degrees outside and not much more inside. We ate breakfast, did our puzzles, and dealt with social media and email. By 8:30 am we had prepared the van and were ready to leave.

Majella took the morning driving shift. I set the navigation to Ardrossan, our first planned stop on the Yorke Peninsula. We passed through Clare and headed a little south of west. It was not long before we had left the wine country and were passing through saltbush plains with patches of cultivation visible where the soil must be more suitable. A row of hills in the distance supported 20 or more wind turbines.

Thirty minutes or so later we were driving south on the Augusta Highway through green farmland. For much of the way along that stretch the speed limit was lowered for roadworks for duplication to dual carriageway. Before leaving the highway we passed several farms each with a series of large sheds. Signs suggested they were for poultry, whether for eggs, meat, or both we could not see.

Before we reached Port Wakefield we turned off, rounded the top of Gulf Saint Vincent, and joined the Yorke Highway heading south through sandy flats. As Majella drove south beside the gulf we could see the blue water and distant hills on the far side. Occasionally we passed tidal flats on our left but mostly there were fields of green crops on either side and a gentle rise on the right and sometimes an old stone house. We passed a couple of small coastal settlements before reaching Ardrossan around 10:20 am.

We found a car park close to town and the foreshore – not a big challenge in a smallish town. While Majella dealt with some email I walked to the top of the cliff for a look around. Once she was done we walked to the nearby Drakes and stocked up with more provisions. Back at the van we used the gas cooker to boil water for coffee which we drank with some fruit cake from Drakes.

When I was planning our itinerary for today I was conscious that the total distance to drive was not great and could not find a lot to do along the way. I allowed 3 hours for the museum and lunch in Ardrossan but could not imagine how we would fill the time. We walked the short distance past Drakes to the museum which was attached to the local information centre where we paid our admission. Signs indicated that Ardrossan was home of the stump jump plough which we had learned about as kids in school though not the details of its origin.

Inside the museum we were greeted by Dave, a volunteer, who explained that the building was part of the factory where 120 workers had once manufactured stump jump ploughs and other agricultural machinery. After watching the 14 minute video about the plough that Dave offered to run for us he took us on a guided tour of the museum. There were a lot of old machines and other items to see and Dave regaled us with details about many of the pieces. His last spiel about the wreck of the Zanoni off the coast nearby was the most detailed, other than about the ploughs, and covered the history of the incident and the relatively recent location of the wreck and recovery of artefacts. He left us to our own devices in the final section of domestic items. Our museum visit had filled much more time than I could have imagined and left us better informed about a variety of matters thanks to Dave’s enthusiasm. Something about which we learned nothing in the museum was who was here before the white people arrived. A lot of work remains to be done telling the whole story of Australia.

From the museum we walked a short distance to the top of the cliffs above the sea and along the top toward our van. By then it was approaching 1 pm and were wanted lunch. A nearby bakery had no sandwiches or salad rolls but the woman there suggested Wilma’s coffee shop. We walked there to find it well patronised by locals and bought a beef and salad wrap to share.

Back at the van I took over driving and we took a short detour to Tiddy Widdy Beach. The name on a sign had drawn our attention and Majella saw mention somewhere of an art trail. We parked and walked to the beach but found no art. As I drove out Majella found a website that reported the name was indigenous, meaning place of many sticks, and had referred to the location of a water source.

Heading south we pulled into Port Vincent because Majella had seen a colourful mural painted on a water tower. I drove slowly past the tower for a closer look and then through town and out by the other road. At that point Majella started looking to take a photo but the tower was far away on the other road. I went around again and stopped by the tower for the photo before driving on.

We arrived at Stansbury and checked into the caravan park a little before 3 pm. Majella got coins from the office to do some laundry and we walked on the beach for a while before coming back to collect and hang the laundry. A pair of pelicans had been wandering on the beach and nearby grass and did not seem much bothered by our presence.

After the laundry was done and hung out, sometime after 4 pm we walked up the path along the beach toward town. We paused at the Dalrymple Hotel for drinks – cider for Majella and Shiraz for me – before walking back to the van. By then the pelicans had gone but there were still a few gulls hanging about as the sun set.

For dinner we used the camp kitchen just across the road from our van. Majella cooked up some satay chicken we had bought at Drakes earlier in the day and I used the microwave, which was the same as ours at home, to cook some rice. Nobody else was using the kitchen area so after we had eaten and cleaned up we took advantage of the television to catch up with what had been happening elsewhere.

Our itinerary is now back on schedule. The forecast for tonight is for rain but we should be snug and warm under two doonas. The forecast for tomorrow is looking positive for our day in Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park.