Back on Australian soil, we headed to the booked Air BnB as we still needed to pick up Tinfish & Minty from their respective storage places. We’d been keeping a close eye on the fires while we were in the UK, but until we were back in the country, it was hard to determine the full extent of the reality. Hanging around South Australia for a while seemed a safe bet.
Now, there may be a few confused people wondering why we were contemplating where to ‘hang out’ given we’d left Sydney with a year’s travel ahead of us, and by my recollection, a year has passed…. Well folks, we’ve decided to take another year off and continue our adventure around Oz!
School with a view 
Concentrating! 
Car schooling
However, there needed to be a few rules ‘reset’ after last year’s somewhat debacle with home schooling. I’d had stern words with my 3 children (Alex, Lexi & Reo for those a little confused), and recommended that ‘little & often’ would be the way forward. Let’s see how that strategy goes….
We needed a couple of days to get ourselves organised and wait for ‘Auntie’ Chrissie who was flying down to hang out with us for a few days. We couldn’t venture too far as Chrissie needed to be back on a plane in 5 day’s time. Once fridges were stocked and all the nooks and crannies filled with a few cheeky bottles of wine, we headed out of town and over to Yorke Peninsula.
Camp neighbours 
“Helping”
With planning being a strong part of our expedition, not, we were winging it a little given it was Australia Day long w/e. However, we managed to find our self a nice little spot at a place called The Gap, named as it’s a rare break in the near continuous dunes that extend around the local area. We parked in close distance to another family who also had a 9-year-old girl and 6-year-old boy. Superb! Childcare taken care of, (kids are great at entertaining themselves for hours with others) the catch up with Chrissie could begin. YAY.
Relaxing 
Camp
With our feet firmly in boots for the last 6 weeks, it was nice to feel sand between our toes again. Last time we were at the beach, we needed to be croc aware, now we were down south we swapped to Great White Shark aware! You’ve got to love this country where you live by the saying, ‘it’s not whether a creature kills you, but how fast’!
Dinner time 
Winning game! 
The Gap
Days were pretty relaxed. Paddling in the sea, teaching Chrissie Monopoly Deal, we whiled away the hours chatting. I must admit, she went down on my friends list after choosing to take a long walk instead of offering to take over the schoolwork. Still can’t understand why. 🤔 Hooked on Monopoly Deal, we played many games throughout the day and well into the night. Chrissie takes no prisoners when it comes to Monopoly and Lexi gave her a good run for her money. After such a busy six weeks in the UK, it was really nice to change down a couple of gears. Before we knew it, our time was up, and we needed to get Chrissie back to Adelaide for her return flight. With Chrissie safely dropped off, it was Fasta Pasta for us before heading back out of town again, towards Eyre Peninsula.
Great company 
Sun downer 
Inherited kids
We were meeting our friends, James & Tammy and their two children Henry & Charlotte, who were already down there (you may recall we visited Kangaroo Island with them last year and stayed with them just before leaving for the UK). We took a couple of days to get there and stopped in Port Lincoln for water and food top up before finding them splashing in crystal clear waters off Richardson’s beach in Port Lincoln National Park (NP). The weather was hot and humid and it took the kids about a nanosecond to jump out of the car and race to the beach. We spent the arvo cooling down and playing in the water and sand, and the evening greeted us with an amazing sunset over Boston Bay.
Cool down 
Beautiful
The following day we moved again to the other National Park of the peninsula, Coffin Bay, as James and Tammy had been in Port Lincoln National Park for a few days already. We stayed for a couple of nights at a camp with a great nature park which the kids loved to explore and play in. Known for its remote coastal scenery, the bays and coastline around the park are just that. We took a drive to explore the area and a potential camp we might return to after the others headed home. Great excuse for a nudey nip in the sea for the kids followed by a roll around in the sand… well, why not hey! It was straight back down to the sea befoire being allowed into the car.
You cannot visit Coffin Bay NP without nipping to ‘town’ and sampling a few oysters washed down by a glass of Chardy. Not really my thing, but James, Tammy and Alex guzzled about 3 dozen between them! It was becoming quite the seafood camp as the following night, they cooked up an extravaganza of crayfish and sesame seared tuna, both caught by James’ fair hand. Thank you so much guys, it was absolutely delicious!
It was then time to venture further up the coast as James, Tammy and family began to make their way home. We drove up towards Elliston where we camped near to a beach and took in a pleasant cliff top drive with impressive ‘sand’ sculptures. Upon reading about the sculptures on Wiki, I’d imagined huge, carved blocks of sandstone perching on the edge of the cliff, like the sand sculptures created by artists on beaches. The ‘huge’, ‘carved’ and ‘perched’ were all spot on, but the sculptures were made out of blocks of concrete and up close looked more dilettante than the creations I’d envisioned.
Watchful eyes
Reo made pancakes for brekkie, he and Henry played trucks and flew kites, the big & little kids fished off a pier and the beach and Lexi tried to have Charlotte permanently attached to her like last time, but as she is now a proper toddler, Charlotte wasn’t having any of it! It was nice to just hang out with the Manna’s. After 5 days together, it was time to bid farewell as they headed back to Adelaide and we drove back south to Coffin Bay.
So happy 
We decided to venture farther in the NP than before, into landscapes of high windswept cliffs and massive dunes, pounding surf beaches and sheltered sandy bays. Once over the sandy tracks, we found camp, perched on a low brow of limestone covered in Mallee-eucalypt woodland and nestled nicely out of the wind. No one else was there apart from a few curious kangaroos, so for camp we had the pick of the bunch; we could not have got a better vista, looking across the bay to the sentinels of Marble Range, Mt Dutton and Mt Greenly. Our view really was picture perfect.
Camp 
Perfect
With the emerald green waters lapping on to the sandy shores and the blue silky skies radiating down, we weren’t sure how long we’d be able to suffer these torturous conditions! We had a couple of lazy days while Alex pottered around the car getting on with jobs he’d been meaning to do for a while and we took a drive to Sensation Beach which was rather, sensational. The kids loved driving up and down 7-mile beach, past the wind-sculpted sand dunes, where we had a play with my new drone and dipped our feet. We could have stayed much longer hanging around the NP, but there was a swarm of bees just a little too friendly for our liking. Alex had already been stung since being here and they seemed to be getting braver by the day, so we decided to leg it before they got the rest of us.
Friendly neighbours 
Less friendly 
Sensational 
We were returning to Lincoln NP with its granite headlands, sheltered bays and scenic offshore islands, but made a quick detour into town to restock with water first. We had also reached a new levels of feralness (is that even a word!?!?), the kids had run out of undies, and instead of stopping at a laundrette, I just bought them some more!
It was dusk before we arrived at September Beach and as soon as we found our camp, the kids disappeared to explore. Within minutes they’d made new friends in Hunter (6) and Blair (3). It was dark now and the kids had been gone a while so I took a wander to find them and introduce myself to the family they were playing with. The boys – who I swear are soul mates when it comes to their mixture of cheekiness and naughtiness – had been playing with Nerf guns, ganging up on Lexi and had shot her in the face. The guns had been removed for a little while. I was chatting with Clint and Kali (Hunter’s parents) explaining what we were up to, when Clint, playing around with said gun, went and shot me in the face! Clearly, some South Australians have strange customs of introducing themselves.
Undoubtedly, this unique way of saying hello sealed our friendship, as we hung out with them for the rest of the w/e! More friends turned up; Lauren with her 2 children, Aston and Taris, and then Raffy and her 3year old son Pepe. This was perfect for Lexi as Aston was 8 and the girls paired off immediately, the 3 year olds did their 3-year old thang and the girls gave the 3 boys a run for their money. I felt a little abashed that we’d sling-shotted ourselves on to these families who’d planned chilled time out together, yet they were so embracing you’d have thought we’d been friends for years the way they shared food, fun and laughter over the weekend. Water play, chilling on the beach, kids fighting over which floaty donut and body board they wanted, it was just like your typical family holiday.
We dug a huge fire pit on the beach and toasted marshmallows over it, and of course the weekend included the obligatory late nights; one time we’ll actually follow through on the ‘early to bed’ thought! By morning, all evidence had been washed away by the sea. I love the idea that you can have a fire between the high and low tide markings, as fires are illegal in many states this time of year. It felt very illicit.
As the Sunday wore on and it was time for them to pack up, the kids schemed a plan, telling all who’d listen they wanted a play date. We were heading into Port Lincoln to finally go to the laundrette and I think Kali and Lauren took pity on the kids and offered up their houses while we did our jobs. Sunday afternoon play and dinner dates – kids were in utopia. It was hilarious on the way home as they compared their experiences, trying to outdo each other on the best time had. Thank you Kali & Clint and Lauren for having Reo & Lexi over for the evening. I think it was a welcome break for us all!
Nerf wars 
Quiet time?!?
The following day threw incredible blue skies and warm seas at us, yet everyone was a little tired and moods were crabby at times. After school and time on the beach, we decided to move on to another gorgeous spot in this NP. This place is such a secret you need a special key to enter! The NP’s ‘Jewel In The Crown’.
All advice was to give plenty of time to get there as the drive was slow, and there were many mixed opinions on whether a van could get down there. The drive itself was not especially difficult. The exposed limestone and water-diverting culverts across the narrow track demanded slow speeds, yet as we emerged from dense scrub to cross windswept headlands offering spectacular views of the Southern Ocean, only to descend into the scrub again before arriving at the Cove, our sense of anticipation grew. Our destination was Memory Cove, a magnificent and secluded bay with a pure white sandy beach, cradled between densely vegetated headlands. Our own private piece of paradise. Well, it would have been if there wasn’t another couple there when we arrived! The most difficult part of the drive was actually navigating the camp with its low lying branches!
Having said that, there are only 5 camp spots, yet you are sufficiently spaced to think you are all by yourself. The weather was particularly average for the whole time we were there, which removed a bit of twinkle from the aura, but nevertheless, the magic of The Bay still holds a special place in my heart.
Memory Cove 
Exploring
The calm, clear water of the bay belies the treacherous currents beyond the headlands and the story behind the naming of Memory Cove. Explorer Matthew Flinders reached this area in 1802 and at the time, fresh water supplies were so low that he despatched eight of his crew in the ship’s cutter to search for water. The cutter never returned and was eventually found floating bottom upwards with no sign of the crew. The cove is named in honour of those men and the offshore islands carry their names.
We had a relaxed couple of days (if you excuse all the fighting and shouting over school work between Alex and Reo). Reo honed his cooking skills by treating us to a fabulous breakfast of ‘toad in the hole’. I’m sure all my British compatriots will now be wondering why on earth we’re having sausages in Yorkshire pudding for brekkie, or even, can Reo really cook this on a BBQ in the middle of nowhere!?? …Well, a year ago, while we were on holiday with James and Tammy on Kangaroo Island, we had an interesting mis-communication about toad in the hole. While in my mind the dish is a British institution, the same over here is an egg fried in a hole made in the middle of a slice of bread! Not quite the same, but bloody good as a breakfast bite. Quiet walks on the beach and a scramble round the rocks was the order of the day, not even the overcast skies could put a dampener on that.
We needed to return to Port Lincoln as we had an exciting trip planned which would be filled with excitement and adrenaline! Sh sh sh..SHARK diving! We had ummed and ahhed about this activity which appears in as many nightmares as it does bucket lists, wondering if it would be too overwhelming and confronting for the kids. In addition, Calypso divers have been charting shark sightings since 2011 and they have been declining over this time. It would be 12 hours on a boat, a tonne of money and the biggest adrenaline rush the kids had ever had – and let’s be honest, they’ve already had quite a few in their young years! Lexi was begging us to do it. The enticement for Alex and I was too much, we were in.
An early 6am start 😱 found us camping outside the office the night before to ensure we made it on time! The anticipation was high. Greeted with hot coffee and disclaimer forms, it wasn’t long before we were on the boat, making ourselves comfortable for the 3-hour ride out to Neptune Islands marine park. Surprisingly the time went quickly, and Captain Reo soon took over the reins as we got further out to sea.
Captain Reo
Once anchored, the cage was dropped into the ocean and the waiting game began. Thanks to a thriving tuna industry and nearby seal colonies on the Neptune Islands, this area has been classed as “the best restaurant in Australia for great whites” by Rodney Fox, and if anyone knows a thing or two about these creatures, he does!
Cage in
We’d been grouped with Bruce and his son Will (11) who we’d been chatting with on the outward journey, the only 3 children on the boat. Reo had been undecided about whether he was going to enter the water, yet with slow steps and an apprehensive look on his face, he was determined to get in the cage. Wetsuits, weight belts and masks on, we climbed down the steps with our breathing regulators in and plunged into the chilly waters. The kids had a few issues with their buoyancy and needed a little more weight to hold them down, and then it was action time.
The Gang 
In 
We 
Go!
It was eerily calm under the water, with hundreds of Trevally and Yellowtail Kingfish darting around nervously as if sensing our temperament. It was hard to know which way to look, which direction would this creature from the depths spring from? Would it even come? We could see the chum being thrown in and the fish going wild every time as it was dragged back again and rethrown. But the question remained….was it enough to lure the deep-sea, untamed varmint?
After what felt like hours, the wait was finally over. Out of nowhere, the almighty beast rose from the depths, it’s strong powerful jaw, trying to snatch a bite of the bait floating precariously on the surface. O. M. G. It was incredible. The shark circled back, then disappeared as we all strained our eyes to see where it went, when suddenly it flashed back from a different angle. Blink, and you could have missed it. I love high octane activities and from all account so did the kids.
We were called out of the water to allow another group to enter and continue with the excitement. You never know how long a shark will hang around and they had to be fair to all of us. Lexi would have jumped straight back in again if she was allowed, but Reo had decided that 20 minutes of underwater excitement was enough for one day and was happy to continue watching the sharks from the surface. Everyone was really impressed that he even got in the cage, and I do think he enjoyed the experience, but the reg was a little bit big for his mouth, the buoyancy was a challenge to manage and coming face to face with a 4m shark is a huge adrenaline rush for the bravest of folk, never mind a 6-year-old!
Over the day we were lucky enough to see 3 different Great White Sharks and as guests began to stop going in the water, the rest of us keenies managed to get more time with the King of the sea. I think Lexi and I clocked up the most time underwater! It really was an incredible experience. Alex and I had been cage diving 20 years previously in South Africa and it was as good, if not better, than I remembered. The 3-hour steam home flew by as we all chattered about the day’s events and we proudly sailed into harbour with 3 pennants flying to represent the sharks. After such an exhilarating day, we all slept soundly that night.
Good job too, as we had exciting plans the following day. Tinfish went for a service while I took the kids to the library for some Friday fun. It happened to be free cakes and coffee Friday, what more could you wish for? Well, a little bit of schoolwork maybe?! However, the motivation for quick completion was going to his new bestie’s house for an early birthday day party. Kali had kindly offered to host the party and Lauran, Aston and Taris also joined us to celebrate. Reo, Hunter and Taris soon started to terrorise the girls with Nerf guns and while screams and shouts mounted around us, party food was being prepared. Pizza, 🍕 Reo’s all-time favourite food was the special of the day, followed by birthday cake.
Library cakes 
Party time!
The evening ticked on and as we said our goodbye’s to Lauren and family, we continued to relax into the night. The kids jumped in the spa and Clint cracked open a very nice bottle of wine. I had been on a dry spell since Chrissie’s departure, but I did weaken for a glass later; I didn’t want to appear as rude! As we were all having such a good night, Kali and Clint kindly offered up their home for us to stay over and continue to party. And just like that, firm friendships already established, fused together forever more. Trip life at it’s finest. 💕
Recent Comments