Eyre Peninsula - Eastern Shore

We stayed near Whyalla on the beautiful Fitzgerald Bay.  It had been a long day – and the wind was fairly blowing, which is almost sure to spell disaster in our family.  We tried a few potential sites, before finally settling back a bit from the beach in some sheltered trees.  It was a great thing to be out of the wind.

Monopoly Game - great for a rest day

We checked out some of the southern most mangroves in Australia, and also improved our maths skills with a game of Monopoly.  The game proved an interesting battle of strategies – with quick cheap development triumphing over the more costly longer term development of Mayfair and Park Lane.

The first ship built at Whyalla - the ex HMAS WHYALLA

We decided to join the Whyalla tour of the One Steel steelworks.  This was industry at its finest – but we figured it was important to see steel being made in Australia, particularly before seeing the export of iron ore in the North West.  We enjoyed the tour – but we weren’t allowed off the bus, and it was a little bit of “in this building they do…”

Coke Ovens provided some excitement on the tour

From Whyalla, we enjoyed lunch on Monument Hill overlooking the town, put a pair of tyres on the car, did a bit of shopping and picked up some mail, before pulling out of town around 3.30pm, destination south.

Whyalla - Steel City

We had no real plan, and checked out a few free camps as we headed south.  Most were fairly busy, or rather exposed, and we found ourselves pulling back on the road each time.  A treat with dinner at the Sea Breeze Pub in Tumby Bay, we made the decision to push on to Lincoln National Park, the other side of Port Lincoln.

Paused for dinner at Tumby Bay

It was the end of a long day, when we pulled into Lincoln National Park around 8.30pm.  We found a great campsite at Fishermans Point, overlooking the beach, with plenty of shade and shelter from the winds. 

Fishermans Point - Lincoln National Park 

We slept in the following morning, and spent a lazy day catching up on a bit of schoolwork, before kicking back on the beach.  It was a delightful way to spend the day.

Old harvester - Lincoln National Park

Checking out the beach - Lincoln National Park

Our relaxing came to a sudden end when we tried to find our mail that we had picked up in Whyalla.  It seems that six weeks of bills had been inadvertently filed in a rubbish bin somewhere between Whyalla and Port Lincoln.  Oops.  Thankfully we had mobile phone service.  It was tough work, but we set up our 'office' and got busy tracking down the bills, having them emailed to us and paid most of them with internet banking.  Travel has never been easier...

There could be worse places to pay bills

The following morning Rocky was booked in for a service, so we made our way into town.  It was a good opportunity to catch up on washing too, and after doing five loads in record time, we spent the rest of the morning at the Port Lincoln Library doing our best to knock over a heap of schoolwork.

Everyone refreshed, with clean sheets and clean clothes, we packed up and headed west, to Coffin Bay National Park.  And this was simply spectacular.  Coffin Bay National Park was a real highlight.