More of the Eyre Peninsula

South Australia

It is almost hard to comprehend how beautiful the Eyre Peninsula is, with its vast grain fields, as far as the eye can see, gently rolling hills and rugged coastline dotted with enormous sand dunes.  Since leaving Coffin Bay, I’ve lost count of the dunes we’ve spotted.

As we continue our journey through South Australia towards Western Australia, we arrived in Ceduna, the last major town before crossing the Nullarbor Plain.  Needing to reassess our supplies gave us the opportunity to stop and have a look around.  We enjoyed a walk along the foreshore and took a short drive around to Denial Bay as well as Shelly Beach.  There really wasn’t much else we did beyond buying a few more groceries and filling up the water tanks.

From Ceduna, our next stop was Cactus Beach – where Dean was hoping to catch a few waves.

Cactus Beach is situated at Point Sinclair, a National Surfing Reserve where the aim is “. . . to protect and preserve the spirit and integrity of this remote section of Australian coastline so that future generations of surfers may benefit from the unique experience that this fragile coastline and pristine surfing environment offers.”

Dean was more than keen to spend time there.  The area is accessed via an unsealed road from the little township of Penong, a mere 72.7 kilometres (45.3 miles) west of Ceduna.  That unsealed road is 21 kilometres long (13.8 miles) and so badly corrugated, it took more than 90 minutes to negotiate.

But the surf and the four nights we stayed at the camping ground made the trip down that road all worthwhile.  Between the endless waves, we also enjoyed exploring the area, the cliffs, the gorge, the sand dunes, and the most amazing sunset on our last night.

Our time there was so peaceful and relaxing.  We had a couple of sunny days, and we had a couple of rainy days, but every day the surf gods presented favourable conditions for Dean to spend time in the water.

I wasn’t sure I’d be able to drag Dean away from Cactus Beach, but as the third day of rain arrived, and the battery died, moving on became a necessity.

Thoughts on Location No 57 – Ceduna, South Australia

We stayed at the Big4 Ceduna Tourist Park and were impressed with the friendly staff, the shower curtains in the amenities, and the park in general.  It was very clean and overall, a nice place to spend a couple of nights.

Thoughts on Location No 58 – Cactus Beach, South Australia

This privately owned and operated camping ground was amazing.  The area contained many unexpected pleasantries – flushing toilets, (cold) showers, privacy, peace and quiet, and surfing (almost) 24/7.  The caretaker was so pleased when I thanked him for all his hard work keeping everything so clean.

As usual, a selection of photos have been added below.

A Bonus Giggle

On our first morning at Cactus Beach, Dean decided he wanted to have toast for breakfast.  I waited for him to fire up the (gas) grill to cook the bread, but instead, he removed the electric toaster from the cupboard.

I was reading something out loud and thought “Don’t say anything, it’ll click in a minute.”  It didn’t. 

He plugged the toaster in and turned it on. 

I concentrated on what I was reading, watching Dean out of the corner of my eye.  I thought “It’ll click in a minute.”  It didn’t.

Opening the bread packet, he removed two slices and placed them into the toaster.

I bit my tongue and thought, “Don’t smile, don’t laugh. It’ll click in a minute.”  It didn’t.

As he pressed the control to lower the bread into the toaster, the bread simply popped up again, it wouldn’t stay down.

By this time, I was clenching my jaw to prevent myself from giggling like a schoolgirl.  I thought “It’ll click in a minute.”  It didn’t.

He looked at me and caught my eye.

I quickly turned away, looking out the window and thought “Don’t say anything.  It’ll click in a minute.”  It didn’t.

Dean checked the power point to ensure it was turned on and tried to push the bread down again only to have it pop back up.

I started giggling under my breath wondering how much longer it would take.

Dean turned and looked in my direction, a frown furrowing his forehead.

I chanced a glance and the sly grin I was wearing gave it away.

Finally, it clicked – NO ELECTRICITY! 

We had 12-volt power only – the lights were on and no one was home – so to speak, and the toaster wouldn’t work.

There is never a dull moment and even after more than 365 Days Down the Road, we are still laughing every day.

This morning when I go the toaster out, Dean thought I was having a go at him, but we are now ‘plugged in’.

Cactus Beach

Lightening off shore as a huge storm blew in.

Little crab hiding.

Along the road into Point Sinclair – Boys to the left, girls to the right.

A Painted Dragon

Granite Rock – this rock was huge.

The Gorge with part of Granite Rock on the right hand side.

The toilets – amazing and the cleanest toilets you could imagine.

Point Sinclair NSR

Climbing the sand dunes

A windmill in a wheat field at Penong.