There I was in Streaky Bay, the furthest west I’ve ever been in South Australia. Nice. I might even have played ‘Go West’ by the Pet Shop Boys to celebrate the occasion.
Dan and I had begun the trip by driving from our home in Adelaide to Cowell. We spent a night in a cabin at the Foreshore Caravan Park to break up the long drive to Port Lincoln. It was a novelty to visit the Eyre Peninsula. Apart from a family holiday when I was four years old (an age when I was more interested in the soft drinks), I hadn’t been past Whyalla. The following morning, we thanked our caravan park host and moved on to Tumby Bay for coffee and to check out the colourful street murals. Because of my love of hiking, and Dan patiently agreeing to come along when he’d rather be mountain biking, I was keen to get to Lincoln National Park.
This road trip saw the milestone of Dan’s recently bought white Subaru Outback. He even agreed to ordering an external CD player for the tunes, spinning discs being quite important to me. We were chuffed with the smoother ride and extra room compared with my older Impreza.
Mural at Tumby Bay
We arrived at Lincoln National Park and Cape Donington – a good 30 km from the park entrance. Some of the road was unsealed but still 2WD friendly. We ate lunch and took in the view of Donington Island, a resting spot for fur seals and sea lions. There were Pacific gulls overhead and on September Beach as we started the Donington Loop hike (6.2 km). The day was sunny and the temperature was around 20ºC. The track was clearly marked with signage for descending onto beaches and returning to the bush. The inland sections were cruisy with grey currawongs flying by and calling near us.
September Beach
That day we also visited Spalding Cove, so gentle and serene after a bumpy experience on the unsealed access road. Although it was getting close to 6pm, it was daylight saving so we hiked up Stamford Hill. Looking out over the vast coastal woodland slopes, I imagined Captain Matthew Flinders and his crew back in 1802 digging for fresh water and meeting the Traditional Owners, the Barngarla and Nauo peoples. The interpretive signs were interesting, and this history page was useful. I saw emus and beautiful Port Lincoln parrots, but admittedly only out of the car window for a split second as we zoomed past. The parrots were on the road as we headed into their namesake town, Port Lincoln. At Stamford Hill, we took in amazing views of the town and Boston Bay in the evening. I love how sea water sparkles in the sunlight.
Hiking up Stamford Hill, Lincoln NP (photo by Daniel Ham)
View from Stamford Hill
A special mention goes to the Fresh Fish Place for dinner and beers in our hiking clothes. We ate the best seafood in a laid-back vibe, then found our accommodation.
The next day, Dan and I drove to Coffin Bay National Park. A sealed road twists and undulates through the park. It was very scenic with tall sand dunes covered in vegetation interspersed with sheoak woodland. Distant views of more sand dunes opened up as we went. We checked out Templetonia Lookout then drove on to reach Yangie Bay. Here we hiked the 2 km loop and also detoured onto the Yangie Island hike trail for 20-ish minutes to see what was there. On the loop trail there were great views of the bay, a nursery for juvenile fish in a sanctuary zone. It’s where marine creatures take shelter, so tranquil compared to the Southern Ocean side. I liked the samphires and a lilac flowering plant on the water’s edge. On our detour walk there were bird songs (maybe the grey butcherbird), plus the unique deep booming calls of an emu. These birds were heard but not seen due to the dense scrub. There was a sense of remoteness at Yangie Bay even though vast stretches of the park lie beyond, accessible by 4WD.
Coastal plants at Yangie Bay, Coffin Bay National Park
After lunch, we backtracked a little then headed for the Golden Island and Point Avoid lookouts. OMG don’t stand too close to the edge! Golden Island looked golden, and seeing waves going in different directions on rocky platforms at Point Avoid was quite something. Quite speccy to experience these. One view reminded me of an old family photo, perhaps from the time I visited as a little girl.
Point Avoid, looking towards Golden Island, Coffin Bay NP
The sealed road to and from these lookouts represented the will to keep following a clear path through the chaos of hilly sand dunes and coastal heath scrub. I mean, the scenery was lovely, but it symbolised my attempts to focus on a path through uncertainty and things outside of my control in life. I enjoyed walking slightly inland among the mallee woodlands in both of these national parks, then reemerging the waterfronts. The salty air felt good.
Back in Port Lincoln, there was time later in the day for Dan to get a bike ride in while I relaxed. We then treated ourselves to a fancy seafood dinner at Sarin’s at the Port Lincoln Hotel. Oysters are famous in this part of the world and, although they’re not Dan’s favourite dish, we ate them anyway and they were delicious. The staff were friendly, we had a few laughs and I felt like I was starting to unwind.
Onwards. Dan and I drove to Mount Greenly and Greenly Beach via the Coles Point Road. Thanks go to Paul for recommending this beautiful place. Mount Greenly is a granite hill overlooking farmland and the coast. The trail is rocky, clear enough to follow, steep in places but no scary drop-aways. A problem from daily life was weighing on my mind, although I wanted to enjoy being here and in the moment. I won’t go into details but it was nothing too serious. In my experience, thinking things through while walking in nature is helpful. Then pretty soon I felt better and was glad to be on this holiday and away from the city.
We hiked most of the way along the Mount Greenly plateau but turned around before the summit. From our position there were glorious airy views of the coast and Lake Greenly / Puwanna. As always I love bird calls and when they’re in a specific location on a linear hike they sometimes squawk when you return the same way. I photographed salmon correa flowers. The slopes had pleasant woodlands with patches of pigface to remind us we were at the coast. We returned in just under two hours, enjoying perfect weather, blue skies and temperatures in the low to mid-twenties. We headed to fabulous, remote Greenly Beach to eat our little lunches and watch crimson-coloured crabs.
Big views from Mount Greenly
For the rest of the Eyre Peninsula trip we went into sightseeing mode. The coastline at Leo Cummings Monument lookout was phenomenal and included a sea stack. Then there was Waterloo Bay monument followed by Elliston’s clifftop sculptures. Elliston felt like miles away from anywhere and the pub meal in the beer garden hit the spot. Pesky flies kept us company from the Talia Caves onwards, probably due to a recent rainy period across the state. ‘The Woolshed’ at Talia Caves was neat to behold – I didn’t walk in too far because of the drop-away terrain. Argh! So many flies at the famous Murphy’s Haystacks, but we coped. These are granite inselbergs jutting out at interesting angles, with farmland all around.
Dramatic coastline at Leo Cummings Monument
Murphy's Haystacks - granite inselbergs
I was glad flies weren’t a problem in Streaky Bay, our westernmost point of the trip, where we had a rest day in a place with a lovely, relaxed atmosphere. Streaky Bay is on Wirangu Country. Just along the coast, ‘The Granites’ were truly beautiful. It’s a sandy lagoon where you can paddle and swim in still waters, surrounded by low granite rocks. I was managing a muscle strain injury on the front of my right shoulder, but I could still swim. All salty and floaty, it was bliss. There were blackboards installed at beach car parks for people to record shark sightings, but we didn’t notice any sharks.
Big thanks go to Mark and Linda, our hosts at Streaky Bay Motel and Villas. Mark gave us a comprehensive spiel about what to see and do in the area.
The Granites, near Streaky Bay
It was time head home, via small detours to Pildappa Rock, Mount Wudinna, and Kimba’s Big Galah. The flies at the rocks were unrelenting and we should buy head nets for next time. Mount Wudinna is an awesome granite monolith at 261 metres above ground level, with a well-marked short hiking trail leading to the summit via various rocky features. Thanks to Dan for trusting me with the Subaru on the unsealed roads – it was good to share the driving. To break the journey back to Adelaide, we overnighted in Crystal Brook.
So there you have it. Dan and I immersed ourselves in the natural beauty of the Eyre Peninsula’s hills and coasts and received great hospitality from the locals. This reinforces my love of travel. It went well.
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