Travelling through South Australia - Clare, Port Augusta, Streaky Bay and Ceduna

Clare

8 – 10 September 2018

Back on the highway, we found the turn-off to Red Banks Conservation Park, and then drove in to Burra for lunch. On the way a concerning warning light came on – a fuel light, and the manual said “see dealer”. Bugger! We stopped in a park by the river and called the RAA. The lovely chap who came over from Clare suggested it was something to do with the fuel filter and tweaked it a couple of times – no more warning light, but a change of plans to make our way to Clare for someone to have a proper look on Monday.

Before leaving the area we went back to Red Banks in search of the promised Redthroat. We found the spot that was described to us and, unbelievably, there was the bird! Lots of them, too. We had considered camping there but with some good photos obtained and the wind blowing a gale, we decided to proceed to Clare. We called ahead to the caravan park which was very crowded – it seems the Clare Valley is a popular weekend getaway.

Red Banks. Redthroat inhabit the low blue bush all around the area.

Redthroat. A new bird for me.

After another very cold night – this time we were on a powered site so could use the heater – we visited Gleeson’s Lagoon. The local Lions Club established and maintain this lovely parkland, complete with a bird hide. Unfortunately there were only a few ducks around, but we did enjoy the walk. We spend the rest of the day doing housekeeping tasks, and enjoying the pleasant surroundings.

Spring was a little slow coming to Clare.

On Monday morning we called into Clare Valley Toyota and established that the fuel filter needed to be changed, and yes, they could do it almost straight away. Camp packed up, new filter in and we were on the road again, headed for Quorn – but along the way we changed our minds.

Port Augusta 

10 – 11 September 2018

We set of towards Quorn and stopped for coffee in the tiny town of Georgetown, then drove on to the slightly bigger town of Laura where we had a picnic lunch in the park. Sometime after lunch we decided to skip the visit to Quorn, chosen because we had enjoyed staying there on previous trips, and go on to Port Augusta instead.

We reached Port Augusta around 2pm and checked into an ensuite site at the caravan park very close to one of our favourite places – Australian Arid Lands Botanic Gardens. After parking the camper trailer we set off for the gardens. The weather was almost perfect – warm with only a slight breeze. This was in stark contrast to the strong winds and really low temperatures we had been experiencing. We had a very pleasant afternoon wandering the gardens and visiting one of the bird hides. Afternoon tea at the lovely café made for a very nice treat too.

Nankeen Kestrel nesting at the entrance to the gardens.

Reptiles like this young Bearded Dragon were coming out of hibernation.

A Shingleback Lizard or Blue-tongued Skink near the cafe.

We saw Chirruping Wedgebills but, as always, they kept either hidden or distant.

Another sign of spring.

Watching from the saltbush.

Moving on from Port Augusta we decided on Streaky Bay as our next destination but were more than a bit concerned at the severe weather warning for strong winds ahead of a cold front. We chatted to the lady in the caravan park office, and she reassured us that it wouldn’t be as bad as we thought it might be, so we headed west and hoped for the best.

Streaky Bay

11 – 13 September 2018

After an early start we stopped at Kimba for morning tea – and the wind was blowing hard. We stopped to take photos of the silo art, which is becoming increasingly popular in rural areas, and then found a warm café for coffee and cake. While we were there I contacted the Toyota dealer in Ceduna to book the car in for a service later in the week, and also booked a spot in the caravan park. While we were at it we also booked ahead for Streaky Bay.

Silo art at Kimba.

We shouted ourselves lunch at the roadhouse at Poochera as there was no way we could picnic in the windy conditions, then turned off for the drive to Streaky Bay. It wasn’t too windy when we arrived but that was to change later in the day. By dinner time, it was almost impossible to be out in it, so we cooked a quick meal of scrambled eggs and toast and retreated into the tent to eat, and watch some television. We had a powered site with absolute beach frontage and the best free wifi we have ever had, so we streamed some live tv, with the heater going to keep the cold at bay. It worked, we were snug and warm throughout the night.

Absolute beach frontage.

A shower of rain passes leaving some blue sky in its wake.

A variety of cormorants on the swimming baths.

Pelicans hoping to be given fish scraps were often seen on the beach.

 In the morning, the weather was significantly improved – still very cool, but generally sunny and not nearly as windy. We set off for one of the most popular tourist destinations in the area – Point Labatt and the permanent sea lion colony that can be viewed from a platform above the rock platform the sea lions, and their friends the New Zealand fur seals, call home. Despite the icy wind, this was a fabulous experience. Even without binoculars you can see the residents quite clearly as they laze in the sun, and move about to get a better spot, or set off into the water for a feed.

Australian Sea-lions with Black-faced and Pied Cormorants.

Life's tough.

A Sea-lion heads out the channel to sea.

From Point Labatt we made our way to Yanerbie Beach for a bit of bird watching as there was a particular bird Mick was hoping to photograph there. Back to our camp for lunch and then out on the road again later in the afternoon made this a real touristy day. In the afternoon we took a walk along the jetty and then drove around the Westall WayLoop, stopping to walk down the hundred or so steps to The Granites, as well as a look at High Cliffs and the Smooth Pool. We then detoured back to Yanerbie Beach before returning home to a beautiful evening by the water.

The Granites.

The Granites.

Yanerbie Beach is supposed to be a good site for wading birds, in particular, Grey Plover which would be a new bird for me. The guide books get it right sometimes and I got my plover almost immediately. On an open beach it's very hard to get close enough to the subject for a decent shot. I've found that a commando crawl will sometimes work but it's not easy with old bones. Especially carrying 4.5 kilos of camera gear. The plovers let me get a little closer on my belly but for some reason the shots I got didn't turn out so good. Mick

Sooty Oystercatcher

A Pied Cormorant at Yanerbie Beach.

Grey Plover

Red-necked Stint

Curlew Sandpiper

Pacific Gull

Red-capped Plover

White-faced Herons

We packed in a rather leisurely fashion and stopped for morning tea at the local bakery café before setting off for Ceduna. The car was booked in for a service at 2:00pm, and with only about an hour drive ahead of us we weren’t in a huge hurry.

Ceduna

13 – 15 September

We stayed in Ceduna once before and didn’t like it at all, but decided that we would have to give it another chance if we wanted to get the car serviced before we set off across the Nullarbor. We had booked a site at the caravan park on the foreshore and, even though we didn’t have waterfront this time, we could still see the water from our site. The car was serviced that afternoon which meant we had the whole of the next day to explore.

In the morning we visited the Tourist Information Centre, as is our habit and picked up a brochure with information about nearby National Parks. We chose to visit Laura Bay Conservation Park first and enjoyed a lovely walk along the beach. From there we drove back towards Ceduna via the unsealed road and detoured to Wittelbee Conservation Park. From the point there are spectacular views up and down the coastline. There is camping at both locations, but Wittelbee would be my pick for the fabulous views. There are no facilities at either campground.

A taste of the spectacular coastline of Wittelbee.

Black-faced Cormorant in front and Pied behind.

We pottered around at camp for the rest of the day, and learned late in the afternoon that there was a severe weather warning for strong (gale force) winds for that evening and night. It was only a little breezy when we set off for dinner at the pub – conveniently located right next door to the caravan park. The meal was fantastic! Mick had King George Whiting – a local specialty – and I had Boston Bay Mussels. I had no idea where they came from but they were totally delicious and absolutely the freshest I had ever eaten. There was also way too many for me to eat so Mick helped out. Even then we couldn’t get through them all.

A generous serving of mussels.

As we returned to camp, the wind had picked up so we settled inside the camper trailer tent to watch some television before turning in for the night. Not long after, the wind really started to pick up and we (well Mick, really) had to adjust the poles on the awning. We hadn’t taken it down because we would have had to almost completely pack up the trailer to get it secured properly. We simply had to hope for the best. The wind howled throughout the night and the conversations in the amenities and camp kitchen in the morning confirmed we weren’t the only ones who had a sleepless night. At least the awning stayed put.

The wind had dropped somewhat by the time we came to pack up but it was still blowy enough to make the job a bit awkward. After a quick stop in town for fresh bread we set off for Fowler’s Bay. Apparently you can sometimes see whales from the jetty so we considered this for our next overnight stop. When we arrived, the wind was blowing hard and there were none of the promised whales so we pressed on.

A scruffy youngster.

To get to Fowler’s Bay you drive across a causeway through salt marsh. On the way out we saw Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Red-necked Stints and Common Greenshank around the edges of the shallow tidal pools. I also got to photograph a tiny Red-capped Plover chick. Mick