Streaky Bay, Eyre Peninsula to Pildappa Rock, Gawler Ranges

Sunday 22 September – Streaky Bay to Coffin Bay NP, Eyre Peninsula

The western coastline of the Eyre Peninsula is a series of pristine beaches, wind battered headlands and little fishing villages.  Travelling this coastline today we had picture perfect weather with light winds and clear blue skies. 

Murphy’s Haystacks was our first stop for the trip.  As soon as we got out of the car we realized how popular they were with flies! Murphy’s Haystacks are inselbergs created by magma flowing into crevices then further shaped by the wind once exposed.  They were named when a traveler in a passing stage coach commented that they looked like haystacks.  Being on Murphy’s farm, you got it, they were called inselbergs.  Today they are giant pink granite boulders in the middle of a privately owned sheep farm. 

Murphys Haystacks

Murphy's Flies

This farm provides public access to the ‘haystacks’ and all the flies you can eat, all for a gold coin donation.   

The Woolshed

Further down the coast we saw a turnoff to Talia Caves.  Not knowing what we might find we travelled down the dirt road for a few kilometres and were well rewarded with some unique and interesting coastline.  First was The Woolshed, a large cavern carved into the cliff face by the pounding waves over many years with a boardwalk down to the entrance where we walked in about 40 metres.  Next was The Tub, a large crater in the cliff created by a collapsed cave just like the one we were just in – glad we saw this after The Woolshed.  Morning tea was held on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the pounding surf below.

Returning to the main road we stopped at the Colton farm bakery on the side of the road that has an honour system to pay for wood fired bread and sticky buns - all were $4.00 per packet.

Morning Tea spot overlooking Talia Beach

Buying bread from Colton Farm selfie 

Half way down the coast, the town of Elliston has a scenic headland drive dotted with interesting public art.  The Anxious Bay Clifftop Drive leads onto the Clifftop Drive with its cliff top artwork.   Lunch was again held on the edge of a cliff at Salmon Point on the Clifftop Drive overlooking Waterloo Bay and Elliston. This was where the fresh wood fired bread and buns both came to a sticky end.

          Public Art

He's got a bigger nose!

Lunch spot - view from inside van on the Clifftop Drive overlooking Elliston

The Monument

Further south we pulled into the Monument, in memory of a fisherman who died after the trawler he was on was wrecked when ropes fouled  the propeller.

Yangie Camp - Coffin Bay

Continuing further south we headed into Coffin Bay NP looking forward to a bush camp at Yangie Campground. Unfortunately it was the annual gathering of flies and horse/march flies - they were there in plague proportions.  So we did a basic setup with the car still connected and bunkered down for the night in the van. There were several kangaroos and emus with chicks around the van so we had something to look at.  Coffin Bay was named by Matthew Flinders after Sir Isaac Coffin, one of Matthew's mates/colleagues.

Yangie Camp - Coffin Bay: Emu with chicks

Monday 23 September – Coffin Bay NP to Lincoln NP, Eyre Peninsula

Getting up the next morning we broke camp early and I broke two legs.  The legs were the two at the back of the van that I forgot to put up.  After about 10 kilometres driving we stopped at a lookout and it was here I noticed that Julie had forgotten to remind me to wind up the legs.  Fortunately the legs broke leaving the van in tact.  Even more fortunately we were able to drive just 30klm into Port Lincoln and buy two new ones.  I installed these later in the day when we arrived at camp.

With legs in hand we set off to Lincoln NP and, after checking out a few camping options, settled for a good site at Fishermans Point perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking Surfleet Cove and out to Boston Island. 

Fishermans Camp - our campsite on the cliff edge

Tuesday 24 September – Day 2 Lincoln NP

Shingleback/Bob tailed Skink

The day was lovely and sunny so we left the van for the morning to check out all other accessible campgrounds (Surfleet Cove, September Beach, Donnington Lighthouse) and are quite convinced we have the best site for us – private, with views and very few neighbours. Today we saw many emus, one live snake, and the usual large numbers of bob-tailed skinks (Julie) / shinglebacks (Jeff) crossing the road.   We climbed Stamford Hill where in February 1802, Matthew Flinders stood atop in search of fresh water and to take navigational readings.  Just a couple of days before, Flinders lost eight of his crew when their boat capsized going ashore to look for water.  Returning home for lunch we sat and looked out over the beach and ocean below us for the afternoon.

Tonight we had the campground to ourselves.  What should have been a quiet and peaceful night was interrupted when we were woken by the police looking for a missing canoeist.  A mild bit of panic was felt at first when we were woken around 9.30 pm by a man with a flashlight beside our van shouting "Police here!".  With flashing lights and flashlights, the police searched the area for about an hour and a half while SES helicopters buzzed low overhead and strong lights from a boat in the bay also lit the area.  We didn’t find out the outcome of the search although we noted that it didn’t restart at first light.  A set of paddles were on the side of the road as we drove out - all a bit of a mystery really however no news in the paper so we assumed all was well.

No canoe on the beach below us this morning

Wednesday 25 September and Thursday 26 September – Lincoln NP to Port Lincoln

View from under our awning - Port Lincoln Van Park

After a short drive back into Port Lincoln we booked for 2 nights into a really well designed caravan park where almost everyone scores a view of Boston Bay and the National Park in the distance.   Driving into town we picked up bits and pieces for the caravan, pantry and fridge. On the first night a storm hit but we awoke to a beautiful day where we just pottered locally and bought fresh fish from the fresh fish shop to cook our favourite oriental fish parcel for dinner two nights in a row.

Friday 27 September – Port Lincoln to Pildappa Rocks

Makybe Diva

Well it was going to be moving day today however at 5.00 pm yesterday, over a beer, under the awning and overlooking the water we decided to stay another day at Port Lincoln.   So here we are with the only plan for the day to be to walk around the Bay to lunch in town.  After a pleasant 45 minute walk around the bay following the Parnkalla Trail we arrived at our lunch destination with the view over the road of a bronze statue of Makybe Diva - the only horse to win the Melbourne Cup three consecutive years.   After lunch we walked 45 minutes back around the bay for an afternoon at home.  

Saturday 28 September – Port Lincoln to Pildappa Rock

We decided to head directly north of Port Lincoln into the Gawler Ranges about 320 klm away. Turning right at the little town of Minnipa we travelled along reasonably good dirt roads, firstly to checkout campsites at Tcharkuldu Rock (pronounced r-o-c-k), which were quite good, and then on to a lovely free camp at Pildappa Rock.  This was the better of the two campgrounds as we were able to get a great site beside the Rock and with no-one else around apart from millions of sticky flies. There are three other separate camps located around the Rock and overall the park has a couple of drop toilets and water tanks suitable for wash water.  We were well stocked for water so had no need of the tank water.

Pildappa Rock campsite

Atop Pildappa Rock with Gawler Ranges in background

Sealed inside the van we had lunch, then donned the absolutely necessary fly head nets before we climbed the Rock.  Atop we looked out to the Gawler Ranges, one of the most ancient landscapes on the planet with the hills of red volcanic rock being more than 1500 million years old.  Pildappa Rock is an inselberg with many interesting craters on the top as well as an old dam that, unsuccessfully, tried to hold water for the dry season.  It has a wave form somewhat like the more famous Wave Rock in WA.

Successfully avoiding becoming fly-blown we returned back to the van where we settled into our fly free interior for the afternoon. To my delight I was able to get some TV reception and was able to listen to the AFL grand final on the radio combined with very hazy pictures on TV.  Not a bad remote camp spot after all.

Sunday 29 September – Day 2 Pildappa Rock

Organ Pipes (volcanic rhyolite)

Organ Pipes

Today we left our fly friends at home and travelled over 150 klm through the Gawler Ranges all on unsealed roads.  The Organ Pipes were our first stop that required a 10 klm drive each way along a 4WD track and then a 500 metre easy rocky walk to the base of these interesting rock formations for morning tea. Apparently this extensive exposure of volcanic rhyolite is one of the largest in the world. 

From here, we visited an old rock dam, Old Paney Homestead, Policeman’s Point - we have no idea what the point was - all with the Gawler Ranges in the background.  From here we headed further on past Turtle Rock (looks like a turtle) and Mt Wuddina returning back to Pildappa Rock through the small township of Wuddina and an outstanding huge granite statue of “The Australian Farmer”.  All in all, a good days sightseeing.

Old Paney Homestead - Gawler Range

Monument to the Australian Farmer - Wudinna

It is here that we will end this Post as we will start the next one at the commencement of our journey into the Flinders Ranges as we head 350 klm east tomorrow.

The west coast of the Eyre Peninsula really is spectacular and worthy of another visit.  Next time we will do the eastern side travelling up the coast the length of Spencer Gulf.

Our travels remain exciting and interesting for us. Car and caravan both are going well, as are we.  We now plan to be home around 21 November.

Below is a collage of photographs I have taken of (wild) flowers we have seen on our travels mostly from Western Australia and South Australia.  

Happy days

Jeff and Julie