Sunday 9 December 2012

COASTAL CLIFFS AND RANGES

We headed North from Coffin Bay along the coast- but could not resist a look back......

 The scenery all along the Western side of the Eyre Peninsula is pretty spectacular and we spent a lot of time checking out all the lookouts and anywhere else that looked interesting...

These Rock Channels were pretty cool


and Venus Bay was lovely and peaceful

The local wildlife  were patiently waiting and  hoping the fishermen had been successful....

It always surprises me when we come across these old historical sites out in the middle of nowhere
   


Imagine pulling up here back in the day - hitching up your horse and sitting down to a good old mutton stew......

Then later in the day, this sight was a bit different - but a nice way to pretty up a public loo

Another peice of public art appealed to me as well - not sure if the artist was stoned or just had a very unusual model !!!!


This next place was really good to see!  It's a local bakery ( baked the old fashioned way in the old ovens) but the big difference is that although they sell the bread - there is no shop - just a cupboard with the bread
in it and an honesty box for payment.  

We continue to find some very different places to camp.  Lots are free camps, but we also like to try the farm or bush camps.  This was one that was well publicised.

 We arrived and paid for our site and were then directed to 'follow the wagon wheels' - which we did for the next few kilometres until we found the campsite in amongst the trees.  It was definately quiet, all we could hear was the ocean (but could not see it) and the birds.  And the amenities were most definately RUSTIC 
to say the least.

This would be the cold shower!!!  With only 3 walls - guess that is so you can make a fast get away if a snake crawls out from under the duckboard.......

And this would be the toilet - housed in a water tank - at least it flushed, and there was a curtain at the door!!

As we left the coast and headed for the Gawler Ranges, we were told not to miss 'The Haystacks' - a rock formation, so we didn't!


Some of the rocks were pretty big..

But like everything - age is getting to some of them and the forces of nature, and they gradually shed their layers.....


But the thing that stood out for me were the amazing colours in the rocks!!!

We continued on into the Gawler Ranges and set up camp at a site that has become one of our favourite spots on the trip.  Not sure why, but it just had a good feeling about it.  Called Pildappa Rock.

This site didn't have a shower, but being self sufficient - we just set up our own - 12v shower pump, water in our waterbags left out in the sun to heat - and voila.......bush shower!!!
And ours had no walls at all!!!

As we were camped beside the rock - the only thing to do was to climb it!!!1

The view from the top was pretty good, and the craters that had formed in the top of the rock were really interesting


And even though I am a real chicken for heights, Dave shamed me into it and ----
I Climbed to the top!!!!
These 'free' camp sites often have an honesty box for you to show your appreciation in the form of cash to help maintain them for future use......a great system and a credit to those who established it.

We travelled across the Gawler Ranges,through the National Park, and the dust was so fine and infiltrated into the car and the camper, where we hadn't had an issue on the Birdsville Track.  


We felt almost alone travelling through this area as we hardly saw any other cars, just us and the wildlife...


and this strange sight we came across in the middle of the desert.........

And of course - you can't keep the boy out of the man - - - - 

When he finishes his mission of destruction I'll be back with more.............

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