Day 12 – 25th January 2018 – Streaky Bay

Today it was 35 degrees in Streaky Bay and we wanted to do the foreshore bike ride, so we planned to do this in the morning to try and beat the heat.  Col coped with it fine, it is a 5.3km track along the foreshore but is pretty hilly, so the ride in total would have been about 13km.  The scenery was beautiful but the flies were really bad.  Luckily I had my fly net in my backpack and would suggest to anyone doing the ride to pack one.   It was ok when you had a bit of speed going, but at the top of the hills when you slowed down and was breathing a little heavier, the flies threatened to get in your mouth and ears – somewhat distressing.  Once I had the fly net on, that problem was solved.  I did manage to get a touch of heat exhaustion – nothing serious.  Col has done a lot of cycling and found it a relatively easy ride.  Take plenty of water, a fly net and maybe pick a day under 35, or go really early in the morning.  We did get some good video footage on the ride and will put that up once edited.  Col managed to spot another Stumpy on the ride, might have to change his nickname if he keeps this trend up.  The Stumpy Whisperer…….. Continue reading “Day 12 – 25th January 2018 – Streaky Bay”

Day 11 – 24th January 2018 – Streaky Bay Boat Launch

Today we took the boat out for another fishing day.  We decided to use the shallow ramp near our caravan park and Col took my Mazda CX5 rather than his Toyota FJ Cruiser to put the boat in.  It freaked me out a bit, seeing the back of my car in the water.  On the first attempt to put it in, we realised that the trailer was sitting too high above the water to drive the boat off.  So Col decided to reverse quickly down the ramp and slam the brakes on, to try and launch the boat off the back of the trailer into the water.  My job was to hold a little rope to stop the boat floating off to sea…..  yes, I was crapping myself.  I am glad to report that this terrifying plan did work and all went smoothly.  Not sure I recommend it as a way to launch boats, but in this instance it was a nice trick and it did work.  We did manage to get GoPro footage of this launch and will put it up once edited.

Streaky Bay Boat Launch
Streaky Bay Boat Launch

Continue reading “Day 11 – 24th January 2018 – Streaky Bay Boat Launch”

Day 10 – 23rd January 2018 – Streaky Bay Boat Ramp

We are excited that the first video is ready to view on YouTube – the fishing day at Farm Beach.  Thanks so much Jake Cunningham for your help with the editing!!  We are obviously novices at the video stuff, but having lots of fun doing it and learning as we go.  Hopefully they will get better and better as the trip goes on.

Continue reading “Day 10 – 23rd January 2018 – Streaky Bay Boat Ramp”

Day 9 – 22nd January 2018 – Streaky Bay

Just a chill out laundry day today. Hanging laundry out in gale force winds is an interesting experience let me tell you, ha ha.   That probably would have made a funny video had we thought of it.

Also had a tech day and hung out in the recreational room updating the blog and Col was uploading the video footage as Jake Cunningham has kindly offered his exceptional media skills to help edit the films.  Continue reading “Day 9 – 22nd January 2018 – Streaky Bay”

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. Continue reading “Day 8 – 21st January 2018 – Coffin Bay to Streaky Bay”

Day 7 – 20th January 2018 – Coffin Bay

Today was mainly a pack up day of our Coffin Bay camp, but once the main pack up was done we decided to go and hire a couple of kayaks and paddle around Coffin Bay. You can get them from the Beachcomber shop near the caravan park. We also found that this shop had a better selection of bait for fishing and much cheaper than the general store. They sell a range of things, so it is worth having a look around.

We took the kayaks out for an hour around the bay.  The coast line was really beautiful and the water surprisingly clear. We saw a razor fish, crabs and a scallop. I learnt a new fact thanks to Colin East, that scallops can swim! Even though they are in a shell. They open and close so they can move away.  Continue reading “Day 7 – 20th January 2018 – Coffin Bay”

Day 6 – 19th January 2018 – Fishing Farm Beach

First fishing day today! We took the boat to Farm Beach and did a beach launch. We had some challenges putting it in. We were trying to film it with the GoPro and took a bit too long and the jockey wheel completely sank in the sand which meant we couldn’t drop the large front wheel in place. Luckily Col and I were able to lift the trailer to allow the front wheel to lock in. By then the back wheels had started to sink and Col and I couldn’t budge the trailer. We had to hook the trailer up quickly to the car using some straps and pull it out of the hole. We were then able to push the trailer and boat out far enough to launch it.

If you are thinking that is all that went wrong with this launch, you are mistaken. We got out deep enough and the boat then floated off the trailer at an angle preventing us from being able to unhook the front clip securing it to the trailer. Col and I tried unsuccessfully to push the boat back on to the trailer, it was way too heavy. At this moment Col realised the bung plugs weren’t in and dashes to the back of the boat to stop it taking on any more water. He switched on the bilge pump to empty it out. We suddenly notice that the boat had managed to move clear of the front hook holding it to the trailer and we quickly moved the boat off while we could. In the meantime I managed to step on something in the water that was very painful, possibly a sea urchin. Not sure what it was, but it didn’t cause any issues. We were able to get the trailer back onto the beach without any further drama and both enjoyed the fishing day. It was about 35 degrees in Coffin Bay, but beautiful out on the water. Such a pretty place.

Fishing Farm Beach
Fishing Farm Beach

We fished the sandy spots for some whiting and managed to catch a couple of good sized fish for dinner. We caught a few smaller fish that we had to throw back. Not a great catch but a great day. The weather changed quickly and soon we were surrounded by whitecaps and had to head back to shore. I am glad to say that getting the boat out went way more smoothly than putting it in. A couple of nice guys came over to give us a hand too which was good as the water was moving pretty quickly and would have been a fair work out for just Col and I. 

We headed to the Coffin Bay boat ramp to clean the boat. This is also where you can get drinking water and use the public toilets, RV dump point and fish cleaning table. 

The evening was much cooler and we were able to have a camp fire and we cooked up the fish that we caught for dinner. So good. There really is something special about catching, cleaning and cooking your food. You appreciate it way more than what you buy in a supermarket. 

We plan to pack up our camp tomorrow and head to streaky bay on Sunday. My Uncle Ian and his partner Rille are heading back from Perth and will be in Ceduna on Sunday, so we are planning a time to catch up with them if we can line it up.

Day 5 – 18th January 2018 – Memory Cove, Lincoln National Park

43 Degrees
43 Degrees

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.  Continue reading “Day 5 – 18th January 2018 – Memory Cove, Lincoln National Park”

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.  Continue reading “Day 4 – 17th January 2018 – Coffin Bay”

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.  Continue reading “Day 3 – 16th January 2018 – Baroota to Coffin Bay”