Day 1 – 14th January 2018 – Adelaide to Baroota
Day 2 – 15th January 2018 – Baroota
We stayed around camp at Baroota and Col gave me a lesson on how to use the drone while filming the camp site (which he is currently editing and will upload soon), he also gave me a web site lesson (so I can update the blog) and we practised using the GoPro and filmed driving into Baroota (also to be uploaded shortly) . Col created ‘left over pilaf’ for dinner because we forgot to take meat out the freezer, but was very yummy. We will be adding a Camping Recipe section so you can recreate some of these yummy creations!
We had planned to go crabbing at Port Germein jetty but the tides were wrong, so decided to use it as a technology day. Very happy with all the gadgets we have purchased. Full time job this camping adventure.
For those interested, we decided to go with the DJI Spark Drone and GoPro5, on great advice from our Technical Media Producer, Jake Cunningham! (Thanks Legend).
Day 3 – 16th January 2018 – Baroota to Coffin Bay
Leaving Baroota and heading to Coffin Bay today. It is about a 5 hour drive, Col wanted to get there about 3pm….. We made it around 5pm. No stress because we weren’t really in too much of a hurry, we knew where we were going to camp and would have plenty of sunlight to set up in.
When we arrived, we tried to find a swimming beach for a quick dip before dinner. We took the FJ on the sand to try and find a spot but the tide was way out at the beach near our camp and we quickly drove around Coffin Bay trying to find somewhere else. We ended up swimming somewhere very shallow with smelly mud haha. Not adding that one to our top 10 beach list! The dip cooled us off and cleaned off some of the dirt from Baroota so our objective was achieved. It was 35 degrees Celsius, so a little warm today.Â
We are staying on a property waiting to be developed which belongs to my Dad (thanks Pop), so a free private camp in walking distance to a beach and a pub, nice. We came here with our camping crew in September 2016 (love you guys and I am not even drunk).  You can also pay $5 to the Coffin Bay caravan park to use their shower facilities, although we set up the double shower/toilet tent behind the van last night for our showers. We have a hot water shower on the outside of the van. We put a strong plastic container down that we stand in, and a foam square tile with holes in it that you can step onto to dry off (thanks Dee, worked beautifully).Â
I downloaded Audible for the long drives so I can listen to a book instead of music. I highly recommend it. Started to feel a bit sleepy at the 2 hour mark and was counting the kilometers listening to music. I switched to the book for the last half of the drive and was alert and didn’t notice the time or the kilometers. Could have kept driving. Needs to be a good book I guess! You can preview the narrator before you purchase and I would highly recommend this, as some of the voices would drive me crazy to listen to. You also need to download the book ahead of time, so be prepared. The great thing is you have access to a book store anywhere you have internet, they are way cheaper than paperbacks, easier to travel with as they don’t take up room and you can listen to your favourite books while driving. Winner. I also downloaded the Kindle app on my laptop too. I think col was wondering why he lost his UHF radio buddy for a while there, as I was a little slow to respond!
Thinking I might start an on-line book club if anyone is interested in reading and discussing each month – let me know. I am currently reading ‘Silent Child’ by Sarah A. Denzil.
We had a small campfire and looked at the stars again last night, no moon. Saw a couple of shooting stars so feeling lucky. Was feeling lucky even before the shooting stars to be honest!
Day 4 – 17th January 2018 – Coffin Bay
Coffin Bay has been very hot but we are managing it pretty well. We bought a couple of small towels that go really cold when you wet them and shake them out. Handy for hiking and also for sleeping.  We have fans but no air-conditioning.
The controller went on the solar panel so we had to drive into Port Pirie to purchase a new one, which is about 45 minutes from here. We came back to camp and Col fixed the solar panel (thankfully, or we would have been in trouble, or had to buy a new one which isn’t cheap). Col never ceases to impress me with what he can fix. It took most of the day to get that sorted and it was 36 degrees, so Col was pretty over heated in the afternoon.Â
Unfortunately the heat overwhelmed the fridge in the boat and all the bait thawed out. At least it was the boat fridge!  The mud guard had also melted when col went to stand on it. I am a little worried about the items in the cars. We will see what damage had been done as we go to use things I guess. We tried to move anything out that would be potentially damaged and put it under the van which was a little cooler.Â
We went to a slightly better beach than the smelly mud one, this one had sand but a warning about razor fish. It was also fairly shallow a long way out. Col was brave and went for a proper swim, but I was happy to stay in the shallow on some sand free of razor fish. Col did get nipped by a sand crab which made me laugh.  Glad it was him and not me, or it would not have been as funny.
We decided to go out for dinner due to the heat and picked the 1802 Oyster Bar but we were disappointed over all. The food was pricey, the serves were small, the food was bland and cols pasta under cooked and lobster overcooked. The good points, the setting was beautiful – we sat outside on the deck overlooking the water, the oysters were great and we got half a dozen mixed as an entree – they had a great selection of unusual choices, we tried ones with a hazelnut crumb and apple puree, Japanese Heat with pickled ginger and wasabi and the other was teriyaki and lime. All were really yummy. You need to try Coffin Bay oysters if you ever come here. You can do a tour and learn about the Oyster farming and take one off the rocks to eat fresh if that is of interest. I would go back to the restaurant for the oysters, but not the meals.Â
Day 5 – 18th January 2018 – Memory Cove, Lincoln National Park
Temperatures hit 43 today!! So we decided to drive to the Lincoln National Park just outside of Port Lincoln and go to Memory Cove for a swim. It takes about a 2 hour drive from Coffin Bay. You have to go to the Port Lincoln Visitor Centre first to pick up the key to the gate and get a permit first. It is $11 per vehicle, and they take a $50 deposit for the key but this can be on credit card. They only allow 10 cars through into the Memory Cove section, so you may want to pre-book to avoid disappointment. The park is only about 10 minutes (13km) out of Port Lincoln but the drive in to Memory Cove took us about an hour. Most of it on a 4WD track but the tracks were pretty good and not particularly challenging.  While we did see some cars that weren’t 4WD, the track was pretty rough in parts and a 4WD would be the best option.Â
The beach itself was amazing! Crystal clear water and white powder sand in a little bay. Just breath taking. We finally found an awesome beach, yay! You can camp down there too and the camp spots looked great. There were drop toilets there too. Gas fires only though.
Both Col and I felt that this idea is a good way to manage the extreme heat because we were able to sit in the air-conditioned car for the beautiful drive, then cool off in the water. We might continue to use this as an approach to enjoying the really hot days. We were mindful of taking plenty of water though, as it would have been potentially traumatic if we got bogged or stuck if the 4WD track was more challenging.
There is also a beautiful National Park in Coffin Bay that is worth visiting too. We did this on our last trip, so chose the Lincoln National Park instead this time.
Link to the Lincoln National Park for more info,
http://www.visitportlincoln.net/location/lincoln-national-park/
In the evening we decided to head to the pub for dinner to escape the heat. The food was great and good value for money too. We then headed home to watch our outdoor cinema as it was still cooler outside than inside the van at 10pm. We got the fans going in the van and slept fairly comfortably.Â
