Today we headed off towards Elliston to do the Clifftop drive, but we stopped in at ‘Murphy’s Haystacks’ on the way there. We had seen a video about these and thought we should stop, but was not really expecting much. We were both really surprised, they are beautiful and we really enjoyed it.
Couldn’t resist including this one. Col taking his photography seriously.
It has been a really strange day weather wise, it was raining and cold when we woke up and throughout the morning, you needed to wear a jacket. Then somehow it managed to get to 42 this afternoon!
So we then headed to Point Labatt to see the Sea Lion colony and that was also very beautiful. There were a lot of baby Sea Lions that kept us entertained. This place is Sea Lion paradise!
So we had a bit of a traumatic experience at this point. It was very beautiful and Col decided that he wanted to get some drone footage, only there was very strong winds blowing at the time. Col felt he could fly it over the cliff where it would be a bit protected and then get some closer footage of the Sea Lions. Great in theory…. not so great in practice. The drone took off ok but things very quickly got out of hand and the drone was taken out over the sea. It wasn’t strong enough to fly back to land against the winds blowing it off shore. The battery only lasts 10 minutes too, so Col was aware of the very short time frame he had to get it back. He battled the wind for about 4 minutes before he successfully flew it back to the car park. We were both very stressed out!!!!!!!!!!!!
The last stop of the day was the Elliston Clifftop Drive and it was spectacular. There are various sculptures along the drive to stop and look at as well as breathtaking views below.
Today was also a big wildlife day. We saw 8 Stumpy’s, 2 that Col stopped and relocated, 6 we managed to drive carefully around and 2 that had met an unfortunate fate with a car tyre (not ours). I think Col’s nickname might have to change to the Stumpy Whisperer, but will see if this trend continues. We also saw our first live snake, a black snake at Elliston Clifftop Drive. We were in the car at the time and it was crossing the road. Not sure exactly what it was but it was a reasonable length, about a metre long. And there were plenty of Kangaroos on the road too – we think they were coming onto the road to drink the water after the rain this morning. So we were driving with caution on the dirt roads, that is for sure.
Back home for a cool off in the pool and the Whiting that we caught for dinner. A great day indeed. Off to Ceduna tomorrow – can’t believe it will be 2 weeks on the road tomorrow.
These photos are beautiful ,the blue and greens are fantastic .
Thanks Jo, and the photos do not do the place justice (they never do). Really, really beautiful place.
Great update!! I’m glad the drone is ok. Also really glad you were in the car when you saw the snake. An enjoyable read. Keep having fun!!
Thanks Jake, the drone incident was a scary adrenaline rush, that is for sure! And while the snake didn’t freak me out, I was definitely happy to be in the car, and more cautious around the bushes when I got out! X
What a way to celebrate Australia Day – exploring and showcasing this beautiful country- thanks for the photos – look foward to the video x
Thanks Tania, and it is such an amazing country with so much in our very own backyard. We are lucky to be Australian, that is for sure. xx
We had the same sort of weather here on Australia day too – raining and cool in the morning and 40 by the afternoon….crazy. Glad the drone is ok – would have sucked to lose that so early on!
Strange weather for sure. Today again is cool in the morning, raining currently, heading to 42 with 62% humidity… it just can’t make up it’s mind. The rain is nice though and a light breeze which I am very thankful for. And we are sooooooo relieved about the drone, we would have been devastated.