Day 8 – 21st January 2018 – Coffin Bay to Streaky Bay

The final pack up was going pretty smoothly.  Col laid down the challenge for me to try and pack up the double privacy ensuite on my own the first go.  I  accepted the challenge and downloaded a video to watch how it was done (with much teasing from Col).   But I am happy to report that I NAILED IT!!!  Might make a video of this so Col can watch it any time he needs, haha.

Things went a little off track when we were packing up the Caravan awning and noticed that it was off centre and wouldn’t click back into the rails on the side of the van properly.  While we were trying to fix it, one of the awning arms popped out of the other track completely and we couldn’t fix it.  Luckily Col was able to get it secured enough to drive to Streaky where we would look at a more permanent fix for it.  This did delay us leaving Coffin Bay much later than intended.

We did find this little guy during the pack up and decided it is a good reminder not to leave your shoes outside, or to check anything left outside before you put it on.

Once we were all packed up we headed to the Coffin Bay boat ramp to fill up the tanks with water and empty the port-a-loo at the dump point.  For those of you that are not familiar with dump points or how to use them, there is a photo below (don’t be scared – I didn’t photograph anything graphic haha).  You pick up the cover and there is a big drain underneath it.  I bring disposable gloves, paper towel and pine-0-clean, also use safety glasses or sunglasses, and bring soap too (some public toilets don’t provide any).  You will also need a hose and fittings (not the one that you use for filling your tank  with drinking water, for obvious reasons).   The drain is quite large, so I would suggest removing the cover off the port-a-loo well away from the drain, as you would be in a bit of trouble if you slipped and dropped it!!

Here is a pic of the fish cleaning table there too.  It is pretty well set up.

Finally we were on the road and the only issue that we encountered was the shower hose door popped open and the shower hose flung out the side of the van and bounced along the road briefly.  Thankfully we had our radios and I was able to let Col know to pull over.  Unfortunately the shower head is now a bit buggered and we will need to work out a way to replace it.  As we are staying at the caravan park for a few days, we have a bit of time.  The rest of the drive went smoothly and I enjoyed listening to more of the ‘Silent Child’ audible book on the way and called, Erin, Jem, Sam and Steff.

We decided to stay at the Streaky Bay Islands Caravan Park in Streaky Bay.  There were two caravan park options, but this was the cheaper of the two and only 12 months old.  So we decided to give it a go and are very impressed with it.  It is a 6 star caravan park (I didn’t know that was a thing), but the facilities are great.  It is a bit out of the town and set on a beach.  The sites are HUGE, 30 feet wide.  We were able to fit both cars, the boat, the van, the tent and the awning all on the one site.  We will get some photos of the place and post them before we head off.  This park is only $30 a night for a powered site if you stay 3 nights or more.  You can’t fill up the water tanks as it uses desalinated water, but you can apparently fill up in the town but it costs $1 per 25 litres to do so.

Ian and Rille came and stayed here for a night too, so we got to have dinner together and chat well into the night.  There was possibly a few red wines involved too.  Great to see family and get to spend some time together.  Wishing them both safe travels on their way back to Adelaide today.