DAY 155 – CWA CARAVAN PARK AT TUMBY BAY
We have
spoken to quite a few people on our travels who have told us not to miss Tumby
Bay…. Just under 50kms up the highway from Port Lincoln, so as we have a bit of
time to kill this week before Ian and Kathy head off back to Queensland, we
have planned a few 2 day stops up along the east coast of the Eyre Peninsula.
Tumby Bay being our first stop.
Wild flowers from my sweetheart this morning from his walk... |
Once again
Wiki Camps has come in handy locating a suitable van park. Steve had seen that the CWA Caravan Park in Tumby Bar was
right on the esplanade and also it was only $25 a night, so thought he would
ring and see if we could book in….
Apparently
they still had two spots available (we found out once we arrived that the
Caravan Park only has four caravan sites – very small, but we loved it….
It was
indeed right on the beach, and each caravan site had it’s own ensuite, even if
they were a little old… I mean what do you expect for $25 a night….The view from our caravan |
Jetty at Tumby Bay |
The park was
also right in town, just around the corner from the few shops and post
office.
We arrived
before lunch and set up, had a cuppa and then we took off for a drive to
explore Tumby Bay. We mainly drove
around town and out to Tumby Bay Look and the Point out at Ski Beach.
We found the
boat ramp first and Steve was pretty impressed with the sand banks around there
and was keen to come back at a later time to do some fishing there. I wasn’t as keen to come back as the blow
flies were terrible… Just goes to show that a passionate fisherman can put up
with anything if he thinks he has found a good fishing spot.
The Lookout at Tumby Bay |
Steve climbing up to the Lookout. |
Then it was
around the corner where we found the lookout.
The Lookout was actually a tower that needed to be climbed to give you a
good view back at Tumby Bay and then then the beaches to the south.
Ski Beach Tumby Bay |
Large amounts of sea grass wash up onto the beaches over here... |
It was then out to the Point at Ski Beach to
check out the beach there and we came across a couple of fishermen fishing
along this beach. Another spot Steve was
keen to try out.
Then it was
back into town where we discovered a Mangrove Boardwalk, so we hopped out of
the car and did the walk out to the observation tower. Unfortunately the weather was pretty poor,
overcast and very windy, so we didn’t actually see too much wildlife
today, no birds about other than a few
seagulls, and no fish and crabs in the water, or if they were there, there were
too many ripples on the water to get a good look.
We headed
back towards the van and stopped at the local fish and chip shop where we
bought some chips for lunch. Back to the
van to eat them. Ian and Kathy had
obviously gone out, so after we had a bit to eat, we took off to do some more
exploring of the area around Tumby Bay.
This
afternoon we did a couple of the tourist drives. Most of the tourist drive roads are gravel,
but in pretty good condition, easily
able to do 80kms an hour on. We headed
out to Cape Bauer, quite a few of the
churches have camp sites along the beaches out this way, with one even have
accommodation for caravans.
The camp
sites and beaches along Massena Bay were really lovely, although they all do
have quite a bit of washed up sea grass on them.
The Uniting
Church Campsite even had a lovely outdoor chapel set up right on the
beach…
From here we
headed down to Wiseman’s Beach at Peake Bay but really didn’t get a good look
at this beach as most of the area was closed off due to private
properties.
Outdoor church at the Uniting Church Campsite |
Moonlight Bay |
Our last
stop along the coast was a trip down White River Road and we turned off go and
check out the beach at Moonlight Bay.
There are so many lovely secluded beaches along this stretch of the
coastline. I think the thing I love most
about it all is that they are mostly uninhabited and you have these vast
stretches of beautiful coastline all to yourself….
There was
lots of farming areas around here, mostly wheat farms and sheep farms, and it amazed us that the wheat was almost
growing right up to the beach. It
appears that the salt area doesn’t seem to affect it.
We did stop along the road to check out the
wheat and even picked a couple of pieces of it. It is a very dried out grain, not green at
all like other produce, but there are acres and acres and acres of it down in
this part of South Australia….
From the
beaches we headed inland along another scenic drive – all gravel roads again
and headed up to Koppio, where there is a National Trust Museum. The drive up here was absolutely beautiful
providing some stunning views looking back out to sea. It was a gradual drive uphill and we found
the Museum, but unfortunately it was closed for the day and didn’t reopen until
Tuesday, which means we will miss being able to visit it. It looked a really good museum too, and I was
a little disappointed that we would miss it.
From here,
we headed through so picturesque countryside to Yallundra Flats before
connecting up with the bitumen again.
Then it was back into Tumby Bay and home to the van…. This really is a
very pretty little spot on the coast…
Steve was
keen to do some fishing tomorrow, so he set up his lines ready to hit the
beaches first thing in the morning….
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