Love is in the Eyre: Up the East Coast

Continuing on with our exploration of the Eyre Peninsula, we arrived in Port Lincoln on the lower east coast. It's known as the Seafood Capital of Australia. The clear waters of the southern Eyre Peninsula provide us with King George whiting, bluefin tuna, yellowtail kingfish, schnapper, prawns, calamari,  oysters, mussels, abalone and lobsters. The Barngala name for Port Lincoln is Glinyala meaning 'place of sweet water' and is entirely appropriate, whereas Flinders' more prosaic name commemorates the city of Lincoln in his native county of Lincolnshire in England. Here is a glimpse of Port Lincoln which lies on Boston Bay, also named by Flinders after a village near his hometown. 

First stop for us was the Information Centre where we collected more brochures, maps and a pass for the national park.  And then it was a visit to the Axel Stenross Maritime Museum. Axel Stenross? Never heard of him. Just another museum I thought. However, it turned out to be an unexpectedly fascinating visit. While there was lots of maritime information, it was focussed on the museum's namesake. A moving video explained his life until we felt we 'knew' this man. Axel was a Finnish sailor who arrived here in 1927 and, with another sailor, decided to stay. They built and repaired dinghies, fishing and pleasure boats as well as helping fellow sailors who settled here to learn the language and find employment. Such was his friendly personality, generosity, and ability to face challenges, that when he died his friends decided to preserve his home and slipway so future generations could see how he lived and worked. The museum itself was an Aladdin's cave of seafaring information, maritime treasures, shells, boat, yachts, fishing and diving apparatus and a section showing where Axel, his wife and friend Frank lived. Another video described the history of the fishing industry in Port Lincoln and showed how the various fish are caught, cleaned and readied for export, as well as the intense inspections carried out to ensure safety and hygiene not only for local consumers but to meet the expectations of overseas' buyers - all information I had never thought about but which piqued my curiosity. I was loving this visit.  

One room was devoted to Flinders and his explorations around Port Lincoln with a model of the Investigator. His cat Trim was hidden on the ship. Can you spot him?

And I got quite excited when, a little while later in Port Lincoln's main street, I saw the sculpture of Flinders with his sextant 'mapping' the coast of Australia's southern lands, with his cat Trim. The sculpture is a replica of the one in London's Euston Station, erected after they had discovered Flinders' grave there when extending the underground on land that had once been a church. 

Port Lincoln was busy, with loads of cars, lots of roundabouts, and people - quite a contrast to the west coast towns. The city is a vibrant commercial centre with lots of gorgeous boutiques, giftware shops, cafes, top-class restaurants and a range of stores and supermarkets. The port itself has huge grain handling facilities as well as being the centre of the lucrative fishing industry.

We were now ready to explore the Port Lincoln National Park and set off in high spirits. The main road through the park was excellent and we zipped along. However, when we glimpsed the water and wanted to explore further it was 4WD tracks all the way. I know the brochures said a lot of park access meant having a heavy duty vehicle but, apart from the main road, there were no other roads suitable for a 2WD except this road along the northern boundary of the park. So... we dithered for a bit, then continued on the main road until we saw a sign for the Spalding Cove track. Aha. This looked promising. Off we went.

Not great, but not that bad so far.

But after a while the path unfortunately deteriorated into a jumble of rocks that we had to constantly pick our way over. We weren't enjoying it so we retreated. Back near where we had parked the car, we found an easy walk down to a beach. Still lots of rocks around but the fresh air was calming. 

A trifle disappointed with what we thought would be a good day of bush walking, we drove out of the park and headed west to Sleaford Bay. While the road was gravel it was a smooth and an easy drive. The views were, once again, expansive.

This was the site of a shipwreck in 1907.

On the way back to Port Lincoln we had three stops to make: an Aboriginal community centre, an old mill and a National Trust house. The friendly lady at the community centre said they were still organising the display we had read about and instead took us around a room with historical photos and artefacts. We learnt so much about the Aborigines' way of life, and especially about one particular woman they called Black Fanny who was a friend to all and a leader of her community. I loved the photo of her seated in a carriage that had once belonged to Lord Byron (sold by him to a Lady Bacon who had brought it to Australia). If that carriage could talk...

For history lovers now. 

We were intrigued by an old mill we had seen near our hotel so went for a closer look.

Evidently construction had begun in 1846, machinery had been built and wooden flours installed. But it was never finished. Nothing has been documented so people have speculated why: a wheat shortage; population growth had slowed; the design was outdated and there were better methods of grinding wheat? But for us, a climb up the spiral staircase gave us panoramic views of Boston Bay and the city.   

And someone's home with a wonderful of the bay. 

Nearby was Mill Cottage (named because of its proximity to the mill), an old pioneer home built in 1866, now run by the National Trust. Just my kind of place! Steve, tired from all the driving, opted to sit in the shade of a very large tree in the garden while I inspected the nine rooms and outside kitchen. There was so much to see, all clearly labelled and presented along with an audio explanation in each of the rooms. It was built for Joseph Bishop and had stayed in the same family for nearly one hundred years so there was lots of family items as well as Port Lincoln memorabilia. 

Always love to see 19th century clothes.

And giving thanks for not having to cook here.  

Dinner that night was at a fabulous restaurant where we had our usual seafood. I haven't included any food photos so far, so here goes. I think these dishes deserve it.

Coconut crusted king prawns with mango salad.

Tandoori prawn skewers.

A satisfying finish to our Port Lincoln visit.

The following day we were on the road again heading north. We arrived in Tumby Bay and headed to the bakery for breakfast. Without a doubt it was the BEST BAKERY I've ever visited! Not only did they have the usual donuts, yeast buns, brownies, croissants, quiches, pies, bread etc, they had all the old favourite cakes we used to have as children. (Mum would buy us a cake of our choosing as a treat when she took us shopping once a month.) Behind the glass were all my childhood treats: matchsticks, jelly cakes, butterfly cakes, chocolate eclairs, apple turnovers, cream buns, jam and cream donuts, custard tarts.....  Everything perfectly baked and presented. What's a girl to do? I am still dreaming of the displays.

The town itself had a number of heritage-listed hotels...

... and a police station, which is a lesson in how not to add on to an old building. 

Before the station was built in 1908 they dealt with prisoners in a unique way.

'If a person became difficult to control there was no jail to keep them overnight. They were tied to a jetty pole and released the next morning before the tide came in. '

I loved the mural of the leafy sea dragon.

The Tumby Bay Mangrove Walk was a lovely diversion as a soft breeze was blowing and the sun shone on the water. I know that mangroves are an important part of the environment for a number of reasons, but here, they are important for the fishing industry as spawning grounds for the fish.

T. 

The beach at Tumby Bay was wide, the sand was white, the water smooth.

A creative attempt to capture the sparkling water.

These moss-covered rocks were an interesting feature.

On the way out of town we came upon the National Trust museum. Naturally, this meant another stop.

The place was packed with pioneer memorabilia, household items, and fascinating exhibits such as old musical instruments, typewriters, and a telephone switchboard. Our effusive guide (I think she was starved for company) said I should pick up the phone and make a call while she scurried off down to the end of the room to pick up another phone to call me. 'Hello Mabel,' I said.' Any gossip today?' 

Much laughter.

This was the first school in the district. Imagine teaching here! 

We were now travelling north up the east coast. We stopped in at Port Neill, a very small town with a lovely park where we had lunch. 

A feature of the park was the massive anchor from the ship the Lady Kinnaird, wrecked hereabouts in 1880.

There was a massively long jetty; jetties are an integral part of the entire Eyre Peninsula as every coastal town had one. This is one I really liked.

I also loved the mosaics scattered here and there, many done by the district's schoolchildren.

The plaque says:
Cuttlefish. Kaizer Selkirk. Port Neill Primary School. 2018.

Half an hour away was Arno Bay, our stop for the night. On the way I captured what I thought was an iconic country image. Even Steve said it was 'quite good'. I guess a grazing kangaroo would have been nice.

Once in the town and our accommodation settled, we set off to explore another mangrove reserve, this one much larger than the one in Tumby Bay. There were lots of different walks here but we chose to do the one that followed Salt Creek as it wound its way to the sea through the mangroves. There were many interpretive signs explaining the bird and plant life along the way. We walked along a well-maintained boardwalk. 

Until we came to the sea.

Can you spot the pelican? 

Our brochure said, of Arno Bay: ' A beautiful place to watch the sun rise over the ocean'. Who were we to disagree? Steve did indeed rise early to capture the sunrise the following morning. Me? I admired his photo.

Our holiday was nearing an end as we now headed for Port Augusta. On the way we stopped at Cowell, yet another picturesque coastal town. Lots of 19th century cottages and buildings. 

I was especially taken with a tin sculpture of a soldier on horseback. 

Further on was an intriguing sculpture - on one side, the soldier was looking down with a bowed head. 

Looking at it from the other side, the soldier was blowing a bugle. The concept fascinated me.  

For the next couple of hours it was a straight drive to Port Augusta and our last overnight stop.

Once we arrived in Port Augusta we were keen to explore the city as we had not had time when we first passed through at the beginning of our trip. Always keen to learn of a place's history, I discovered a number of facts from the very useful Port Augusta brochure we picked up. While Matthew Flinders 'discovered' and named the Spencer Gulf, in pre-European times the area was a central meeting point for Aboriginal people as it was on their main trade route, there was a plentiful supply of food and a chain of waterholes. Their name for the area was Curdnatta meaning 'sandy place'. Several murals around the town pay tribute and respect to elders. This one captures the Spencer Gulf and Flinders Ranges with an Aboriginal face featured in the middle.  

More trivia for folks who like to know: the town was named in 1852 for Augusta Marryat who had married the Governor of South Australia, Henry Young. We took the town's Heritage Walk to discover more. There were a few well-preserved 19th century buildings scattered about.

But it was the heritage-listed wharf with signs depicting life in the 1800s that stirred my imagination. 

The following sign shows the donkey teams hauling bales of wool to the wharf ready for shipment in the late 1800s and I could readily imagine the bustling activity, the clanging noise of the drays, the shouts of the drivers, the brays of the animals, and the smells. 

Another sign showed a photo of 120 camels and 30 Afghan cameleers being unloaded at the wharf ready to open communication lines between the coastal and inland towns.  A busy place indeed. 

It was by now extremely hot and I was starting to visibly wilt, so we diverted to the cool interior of the library; as Kate always says to us 'Libraries are great'.  

By now we were ready to book into our accommodation and rest before the last stage of our journey.  We stayed at the Econo Lodge on the highway just a little way out of town. The accommodation and service we received belies its name. Our room was huge. The television almost a movie-size model. There was an alcove for our luggage. An enormous bench. A table. Two very comfortable lounge chairs. In other words, a great last stop where we could repack, rest and ready ourselves for the long drive home. A huge pizza delivered to our room was the 'icing on the cake' - so to speak.  

Off early the following morning and five hours later we were back home. 

I am now much more familiar with the Eyre Peninsula than I was before our trip. It's very much a 'road less travelled' place, though judging by the number of caravans we saw perhaps becoming less so. For such a small piece of Australia, we experienced an environment of contrasts. Searing heat and cooling sea breezes; snarling surf and tranquil white sand beaches; flat, endless plains and giant geological formations; from Port Lincoln's busy cosmopolitan aura to peaceful coastal villages; pies for lunch and freshly-caught prawns for dinner.

But when people ask us how our holiday was, my first thoughts are that we enjoyed the vastness and endless horizons, the rugged natural beauty, the fabulous food and the welcoming people. 

And how hot it can get. 

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