Around the bottom of Eyre Peninsular.
We were going to call into Tumby Bay to dive with the leafy sea dragons but without all the hired stuff we used in Whyalla it was going to be so cold in our ¾ length wet suits so we went on to Lipson cove. With little chance of seeing them in this weather anyway.
 
Lipson Cove is just a campsite with a honesty box for payment to stay. We are here to walk across to the island off shore, we are told you can walk across at low tide as water is only knee to waist deep. The reason to walk across is to see the ocean side of the island as it has penguins, on the mainland side there are plenty of sea birds. When we arrive we took a look and there was no way we would be able to cross, low tide was due about 10pm , so we have to wait until morning. We walked around the cove in the afternoon for something to do.
As it got dark we walked down and sat on the beach to see if we could see any penguins coming home after fishing all day, we saw not a thing and it was cold.
Around 9am we walked along the beach and checked out the passage across to the island . There are rocks everywhere and the sea is still swirling so you cannot see submerged rocks. The sea comes around the island from both sides and where it meets is where it gets its shallowest, but it is too rough for me and Larry decides to try it but not yet, wait a little bit longer as low tide is around 10am. He tries a couple of times but it is still not the safest thing we have done. So if we can not cross in day light there is no way we could get across at night and sit and wait then get back again in the dark, so this is why the penguins are safe. It was the dive shop man that told us about them and the divers get across with all their gear and some one who nows the right place to cross. 
 
 
 



 So we move on to Port Lincoln.
Port Lincoln
 
With all the rain and storms we stay in the caravan park not the National park as some roads are closed or definitely to sloppy for caravans .We drive into park for the day and have lunch at one of the camps at Memory Cove.To get into here you not only have to have your National parks pass but you have to get the gate key from the information centre as only 10 cars aday are allowed into this part of the park.
Port Lincoln has a bronze statue of the horse Makybe Diva { a three times Melbourne cup winner},in the park on the foreshore as this is the home of the Blue fin Tuna fisherman owner.
If you like seafood the Eyre peninsular is the place to be , with southern rock lobster, Prawns , mussels and lots of fish.

After 3 days we have seen and walked most of Port Lincoln we had not seen a couple of years ago, and seen a lot of the National park so on we go.
 
Coffin Bay National park
On the west side of the bottom of the Eyre peninsular. Coffinbay is also a little holiday town of 500 population that swells to 3000 at peak times in the summer. It has some large holiday homes and rentals for people who like fishing , sailing water skiing in its calm waters, also has resident oyster farms.
We stay out at Yangy Bay camping campingground in the Coffin Bay national park. We end up here for 3 days as when we go to leave the weather is very stormy and not good driving weather.
It is bitumen all the way to camp except for the actual camp site, there are only a couple of other vans or motor homes here , so it is nice and quite.
We unhook the van and go driving to see all the park, it has lookouts, cliffs and big sand dunes and sandy beaches, which would all be fantsatic in good weather. When it is not raining we walk the trail around Yangie bay and up to the lookout over the bay and Yangie island.
 
 
 
Just up from camp on the beach we watched two ravens trying to steel a big pacific gulls fish who only managed to eat a little bit before a pelican came and stole it.

 
 
 
You could see all these little baby sardines in the shallows with some larger fish trying to catch them with all the water birds like Grebes , Cormorants, Pelicans and Gulls fishing for everything.
 

 

We moved on to Sheringa beach
   

Spectacular ocean views, surf beach with white sand dunes and clear waters. The weather put a dampener on our stay as it was still very windy and wet.
Elliston
On the shores of waterloo bay. We walked and drove along the cliff top tracks, overlooking more surf beaches like Salmon Point and Blackfellows, and along the cliffs with their Sculptures on the Cliffs. There are 2 loops, one each side of the bay , Little bay clifftop drive has views of Top gallant isles, Flinders and Waldegrave islands
 

 
Venus bay population 20 wich swells to several hundred in summer.
It has a calm bay for fishing, swimming, snorkelling.
We walked the cliff top walk around southhead to Needle Eye lookout with its very rough sea and of course it was wet and windy, but we did spot a pod of dolphins fishing and playing in the surf.
 

 
The next morning brought a bit better weather, still a bit cold, so we walked and drove around Port Kenny and on to Murphy's haystacks.

We are staying here for the night and while the weather is a bit better we will leave the caravan and drive to Point Labatt to see the seal colony. We meet the owner of the property the haystacks are on, a very nice man who allows people to see the rock formations for a $2 each donation and stay the night and use the toilets for free. It is a massive grain and wool farm supplemented with fence contracting. He is an older man who had a large family of 10 children , all grown up, thats why the farm is big.


Anyway the haystacks are ancient granite inselbergs, [ german word for island bergs], dating back 1500 million years ago. The shapes that are here now date back 100,000 years, formed by uneven weathering of the crystalline rock as parts break down. The two forms are Pillars that merge with the underlying bedrock and Boulders that are detached from the surrounding bedrock. The motted colours are caused by lichen growing on the granite.
The rocks where named over a 100 years ago because the land owner of the time was named Murphy. The name haystacks was given to them by a scottish agricultural expert who thought the farmer had made a lot of hay when he saw the shapes as he passed by, on the mail coach, seeing them from a distance , shinning in the sun.

Point Labatt
There is a purpose built viewing platform 50 metres above the seal colony. Australian sea lions neoplhoca cinera, I think.
It is a good job we went to the sea lions when we did as the next day brings the wind again, and it was windy enough out on the platform.

 
 
Our next stop is Streaky bay population 1150 average rainfall 378mm average day temperature summer 28 winter 18.
There is a lot to like about this place .
Wheat and Barley is brought here as a service centre. It has fishing and aquaculture industries, crafts and produce market, supermakets, banks, sporting and racing clubs, skateboard track, opp shop all on a swimming beach.What more could you want, still a little bit too cold for me, especially at night. We drive to see Whistling rocks and the Blowholes.
This town also has a replica of a great white shark caught by rod and reel. It was more than 5 metres long weighing 1500kg . Not that I like fishing but I think this fisherman would have had the shock of his life when this appeared on the end of his line.
We thought about getting to Ceduna today but the weather turned nasty, storms , thunder lightening and off course wind. So we got off the road as soon as possible and ended up at Haslem for the day and night. Not more than 20 houses here but they keep a little area next to the beach for people like us to stay for $5 a night. We did not get too much of a look around as weather bad for the day and night.
Haslem used to be a deep sea port and coastal shipping town, with ships bringing in supplies, mail and taking out the wool from the area brought here by camel train. In 1960s road trains started doing these jobs so the ships stopped. The jetty built in 1912 , length 1410 feet {don't know metres] was halved and is kept now for fishing from it and for fishing boats docking and the oyster farmers to use.