Ports, bays and beaches galore

After our lovely rest stop in Port Augusta we moseyed on down the coast road of the Spencer Gulf. First stops were Lowly Point with its lighthouse and Stinky Bay just north of Whyalla. It was low tide and the area is so flat that you can see lots of low lying flat areas in False Bay and other areas further south of Whyalla. In Whyalla, we expected to do some sightseeing but were disappointed on several levels: the proposed bike trip around the wetlands doesn’t work out as the wetlands are still being developed and are incomplete. The shipyard/museum didn’t look much so we passed on by and so forth. So we continued down to Cowell where the caravan parks were booked out . We found a site at what appears to be in a showground, but you had to be fully self sufficient which was OK except for that we still had to pay for the privilege of parking there. Blow me down, I don’t mind paying for something if I get something in return for it but there was no toilet or shower facilities. There wasn’t even any shade or grassy area to park in. So what was the charge for??? So we just kept going down the highway until we came onto the next campsite which was on the beautiful Port Gibbon. The sunrises here are spectacular, not that many people were up at 6.30am to witness them first hand.
One thing that surprised me here was the depth of the seaweed on the beach; it was up to 5 feet high in some places and for miles along in one direction. Also the march flies are bad here, though Tony M’s homemade insect repellent works wonders. There was lovely fresh water on tap. We stayed here for 2 nights and we used our solar shower water bags for the first time - not bad, it is certainly hot enough! There is a ‘beer garden’ area set up under some trees where a lot of the guests come in the afternoon to chat and mingle. Once again we made some wonderful friends esp in Bill & Dawn who we hope to meet up with again in about 4 weeks when we both realized we will be heading up the Centre at roughly the same time. We also received many suggestions in what to see and where to stay at various places along the way. I am starting to take a notebook with me everywhere as you never know when someone has a gem to pass on. Soon it was time to head further south to more bays and such, Arno Bay & Tumby Bay are 2 more worth mentioning.