After a very relaxing few days in Lincoln National Park, we drove an hour or so to Coffin Bay National Park and spent the night at Yangie Bay. Luckily, our site was slightly elevated, so we had a stunning few of the bay.
A couple kangaroos (also known as hoppy boys) came over to say hi. I was prepared to give them unrestricted access to our food reserves because their charm was incredibly persuasive. Luckily, Anna reminded me just in the nick of time that sharing our food would make it more difficult for them to find food for themselves, so I decided against.
The following morning, we packed our gear up early and took off for Streaky Bay! In addition to experiencing its beautiful beaches and its coastal views, we were both particularly excited to visit Streaky because Anna’s mum’s side of the family has very strong roots there. On our way, we stopped at Sheringa Beach and tried to write ‘Sheringa Beach, Elliston’ in the sand which ended up looking more like ‘Sheringa Peach, Elliston’.
After Sheringa Beach, we lunched in Elliston, had a look at the infamous Talia Caves (which were certainly very cavey), and stopped by the pristine Venus Bay which arguably turned out to be the highlight of the drive. The view there was gorge!
When we arrived in Streaky at around 4pm that day, we set up in the Discovery Parks caravan park located on the shorefront.
The next day, given that the weather was looking a little grim, we decided to check out the famous Cape Bauer loop from the safety of the X-Trail. On the way through, we walked along Hally’s Beach, listened to the Blow Holes roaring, and looked out over Cape Bauer where Anna’s grandpa used to fish. We both found the Blow Holes mesmerising; watching the waves crash against the cliff face and retreat over and over, all the while listening to the booming ‘whooosh’ that came from the hole atop the cliff. Although we tried to understand the science behind the whistling sound from the infographic in the parking lot, we both couldn’t quite grasp how they worked. If anyone has deep knowledge of this phenomenon, we’d love to know!
After the loop, we drove to Murphy’s Haystacks which, to my surprise, were not impressive stacks of hay at all but these incredible rock formations that had built up over millions of years. Thanks to Anna’s grandpa and other Streaky Bay locals, this natural marvel was made publicly accessible. Murphy’s Haystacks are a form of inselberg or ‘island rock’, not dissimilar to those found around Uluru and Wave Rock.
The following day, the conditions were still overcast so we decided to spend the morning in the caravan park’s game’s room to recharge our gear and soak up the latest drama from MAFS (the tv show Married at First Sight for those who aren’t privy to its genius). As the weather began to clear, we took off to check out the Westall Loop, renowned for its beautiful rock pools, sand hills and swimming spots. First, we stopped at the Yanerbie sand dunes so that Anna could go for a run on them. I also ran on the dunes but I’m too proud to show it on camera.
Next, we stopped at Granites to swim in the rock pools and look on in awe at the guys surfing out the back in shark infested waters on waves that crashed on very hard looking rocks. Luckily, we timed our run that day just right and were blown away by the perfect conditions that we were met with on our way down to the pools. Many photos were taken.
Smooth Pool was next! While we decided not to swim at Smooth Pool, we both certainly enjoyed exploring the rock pools for ‘little critters’ as Anna called them. Unfortunately, no ‘little critters’ were found. That night, we ordered some veggie burgers from the caravan park kiosk, chilled out in the games room, and took an artsy photo of a tree with a single thong dangling from one of its branches.
The following morning, we packed up our gear and drove for 5 hours to Mambray Creek. On the way there, we found a jumping pillow at a park in Wudina and jumped on it a lot. Although that detour set us behind schedule, it was worth it.
We set up camp at site 35 in Mambray Creek campground at around 5pm that afternoon and were greeted by some of the local kookaburras and wallabies. That evening, the sunset was very orange and sunny, so I took a photo. Here is that photo.
That night, the wind picked up dramatically. Luckily, we pitched our tent in a small clearing out from under tenuous looking tree branches.
The next day, the temperature was predicted to be in the mid 30’s, so we headed out early to walk to Sugar Gum Lookout (note to self: check the weather before you decide to go camping and bushwalking). Despite the heat, the walk to Sugar Gum Lookout and the view of the national park were stunning.
On the way back to our site, we saw a monitor lizard climbing a tree. Turns out, Australian monitor lizards and goannas are virtually the same thing. Who knew! (not me). That afternoon, we drove through Wilmington to Alligator Gorge. While we were there, Anna and I checked out the gorge lookout and went on a walk through the gorge and back up to the car park. The lookout was stunning, and the gorge was very gorgey.
Given the heat, we decided to seek refuge in the Wilmington pub over a glass of coke and a couple of games of pool. That evening, the temperature didn’t start to drop till about 10:30pm so it certainly took some time to get to sleep. We woke up the next morning, gathered our belongings, and began the 3-hour drive home to Adelaide. What did I learn from the drive home; Maccas makes a killer iced latté, albeit one that is more sugar than coffee.
And that’s it! The first leg of our road trip is over. We’ve returned to Adelaide to reassess what we’ve packed and catch up with friends and family before we begin our 4 to 5 month adventure.
Next up, we head east!
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