Oysters, art, wine and friends to end our trip

We’ve been driving around Western Australia (WA) for the past two months as part of our tour of the southern, central and western states of Australia. Last week we drove across the challenging Nullarbor Plain, which put us in Ceduna, in South Australia (SA). This week, we’ve driven from Ceduna, around SAs Eyre Peninsular where the star attractions are oysters, beaches, and grain silos.

Us shucking oysters at Coffin Bay, SA

We got to shuck some fresh oysters in Eyre Peninsula’s Coffin Bay on this leg of the trip, but before reaching Coffin Bay, we stopped at a few other places where oysters were also the star of the show. One place we enjoyed was Smoky Bay, a wee town of 279 people. As we arrived, there was a local woman selling home-made cakes for fund raising, so we bought some muffins then went for a walk along the beach.

Oyster harvest coming in on a barge, Smoky Bay, SA

Smoky Bay used to be a port town but is now mostly known for its oysters, recreational fishing, and historic jetty. While standing on the jetty, we saw an oyster harvest being towed in on a small barge. So we found the warehouse area where all of the oysters are processed, and bought a dozen oysters that had just been harvested and shucked, and they were deeeeeliiiishus!

Sea view café for fish and chips, Streaky Bay, SA

Continuing our drive, we followed the coast soon coming to Perlubie, famous for its stunning white-sand beach and clear water. After a look around, we headed off again and soon arrived in the small (1,400 people) seaside town of Streaky Bay. This area is known for is seafood with snapper and King George whiting being the main fish caught. So after a walk around, we had snapper-fish and chips for lunch at a café with a view of the bay.

Marg at one of Murphy’s Haystacks, Streaky Bay, SA

Feeling quite replete, we drove to our next stop which was the nearby Murphy’s Haystacks. As we got out of our motorhome, swatting off the gazillion flies in the 37-degree heat, we were surprised to see that the haystacks are actually rocks. Their name came from a traveller who mistook the granite rocks on Murphy’s Farm, to be haystacks. It's thought that these 1500-million-year-old rocks would once have been a much larger softer rock that has eroded to leave hard granite pieces behind.

Our motorhome Ixi on the seafront camp at Venus Bay, SA

Our next stop was another seaside town that was so quaint, we stayed overnight. It was Venus Bay, a tiny fishing village with more pelicans (100s) than people (60). This quiet village felt so authentic and we loved it there. We had a fabulous camping spot overlooking the beach, and enjoyed the rugged coastline, tidal flats, curved jetty, and spectacular sunsets.

Marg with Paul the pelican, and pelicans landing, Venus Bay, SA

We also loved the pelicans and when we weren’t walking, we were being entertained by their antics. They are obviously popular here and there is even a giant pelican statue named Paul outside the general store in the village. We also loved seeing some of the other birds that flock to this bay, such as oystercatchers and fairy terns.

Golden grain paddocks, Eyre Peninsula, SA

Driving through this area was quite pretty with coastal views on our right, and acres and acres of golden grain paddocks on our left. The Eyre Peninsular is one of SAs main agricultural areas, growing mostly wheat, barley, and legumes, and the towns that we passed through showed their agricultural roots.

Community hall mural, Elliston, SA

Meanwhile, on the coastal road our next stop was Elliston (pop 333). This pretty village caught our interest because of the large mural on its community hall. It was painted by the local community with help from Australian artists Siv Grava and John Turpie. Apparently, it is the largest mural of its type in Australia, covering more than 500 square metres.

The steps and beach at Lock’s Well, Elliston, SA

Soon after, we drove past a sign pointing to Locks Well and decided to take a look and see what it was. A short drive took us to an interesting 1.5 km walk on a very narrow path through bush and above a cliff, to arrive at an amazing view and some steep wooden steps (283 of them). We didn’t see any wells, but it seems this beach is famous hereabouts for its large Australian salmon (known as kahawai in NZ).

Drystone wall near Elliston, SA

After retracing our steps back to Ixi, we returned to the main road and were surprised to see a lot of old drystone walls – walls built of stone without mortar or cement. We’d seen them in other parts of the world but not in this part of Australia. Walls like this in SA date back to the 1850s. Apparently stone was plentiful in the paddocks and farmers built them to contain their sheep when the shepherds deserted their flocks to go to the Victorian goldfields.

Emu in Coffin Bay National Park, SA

After an interesting day, we arrived in pretty Coffin Bay. We drove through the small settlement (pop 611), and ended up in the Coffin Bay National Park at the southern tip of the Eyre Peninsula. After enjoying this scenic drive through lush bush and sand dunes, we were returning to the town when we almost ran over a huge emu. Arriving back into the town, we headed to the local campsite and checked in for a few days.

Us in our oyster shucking waders, Coffin Bay, SA

The next morning, we had an oyster shucking experience. Coffin Bay is famous for its Pacific oysters which are farmed in the pristine waters of the bay. The oyster shucking experience saw us donning waders and sitting on a platform in the bay, learning how oysters are farmed, and how to shuck them. We needed no instructions as to how to eat them. It was great fun.

Boats moored in Coffin Bay, SA

Coffin Bay is unofficially called the seafood capital of SA, and we could see why as the environment and waters are so clean, clear, and abundant. The next morning, we followed a path called the Oyster Walk, for about 4 km along the coast. We passed some beautiful and expensive homes, many boats in the harbour, some pretty wetlands, and kangaroos grazing. It was a great walk.

(Top L-R) Fishing statue, port; (below) local art, historic shops, Port Lincoln, SA

After a few wonderful days in Coffin Bay, we drove across the point of Eyre Peninsula to Port Lincoln on Boston Bay, at the entrance to the Spencer Gulf. Founded in 1839, Port Lincoln is now home to around 14,400 people; has the largest commercial fishing fleet in Australia; and is known officially as Australia’s Seafood Capital. Our walk around the city showed a lovely waterfront area with many historic buildings, and some upmarket shops and eateries.

(Top L-R) Silo art in Tumby and Cowell; (below Steelworks, boat harbour, Whyalla, SA

Next, we drove north, stopping in the town of Tumby to see some silo art done by a couple of local guys to smarten up some of the many silos in this area. Then in Cowell, we saw silo art that showed Mr Deer who took his camels to the Cowell Christmas Pageant for over 30 years. About an hour later, we arrived in Whyalla, the third most populous city in SA. It has a steelworks, a ship building history, nice beaches, and some historic architecture.

View from Flinders and Freycinet Lookout, Whyalla, SA

We a stayed in Whyalla that night in a local camp right on the seafront and it was really very windy. The next morning, we visited the Arid Lands Centre seeing many plants that we’d seen along our road trip but not known the names of. Close by was the interesting Flinders and Freycinet Lookout, so called because in 1802, Mathew Flinders was the first European to navigate and chart this coast, and in 1803, the French explorer Louis-Claude de Freycinet spent time there.

Historic architecture in Port Augusta, SA

Our next stop was in Port Augusta (pop 13,800) at the top of the Spencer Gulf. We visited here when we first arrived in SA so this time, focused on the historic centre and surrounds, finding that there are many attractive historic buildings in the city. We shopped for supplies there and had a bite to eat, then headed south toward Adelaide.

Foreshore sculptures and lighthouse, Port Germein, SA

But nearby, we spotted a sign to Port Germein and decided to explore it, finding it a lovely little port town (pop 249), sitting on the eastern side of the Spencer Gulf. It has the longest jetty in SA at 1,532m, that dates back to 1881. The long jetty allowed merchant sailing ships into the area, otherwise they would often become stuck in the waters of the shallow beach. At the entrance to the jetty are some local sculptures and the original lighthouse built in 1894 which was moved to the jetty entrance in 1975.

Port Pirie, SA

Further on we found Port Pirie, also on the Spencer Gulf. This large port city was founded in 1845 and grew with the development of a lead smelter. The smelter has led to serious contamination issues which the town continues to fight. The main industries are still smelting, and also the operation of silos to hold grain. Having the second most important and second busiest port in SA (after Adelaide), we were surprised to find so many lovely restored historic buildings in the town.

Grain paddocks in Clare Valley area, SA

Leaving Port Piri, we drove inland heading for the Clare Valley. Our drive was interesting as we passed through more golden paddocks growing wheat, barley, oilseeds, and pulses. This area is known as a ‘food bowl’ and we could see why as it went on for many kilometres. It is also known for its wines, so we were looking forward to staying a few days to sample some.

One of the stills at the Clare Valley Distillery, Clare, SA

We eventually arrived in Clare, the main town in the Clare Valley. We’d visited there at the beginning of our trip about three months ago, and enjoyed it so much that we wanted to re-visit. On our first day there, we walked the area’s Riesling Trail to the Tim Adams vineyard. After a great tasting, we bought some wine to take home, then walked to the nearby Clare Valley Distillery. After tasting some gins there, we walked back to camp looking for food.

Leigh in the Sevenhills historic cellar, Clare, SA

The next morning, we drove to the Sevenhills Vineyard, one of Australia’s oldest wineries, founded by Jesuit priests in 1851. Sevenhills has a lovely feel to it with its beautiful stone buildings, and we toured its museum, cellars, and church prior to tasting its wine. We took our wine into the garden to taste, and enjoyed sitting in the shade of the ancient trees.

Marg with our food and wine match lunch at Paulett Wines, Clare, SA

Next, we drove to Paulett Wines where, at a table on a large shaded balcony overlooking the hills, we enjoyed a food and wine matched dish for lunch. It was fantastic, so we bought some more wine to take home. Soon it was time to return our rented motorhome Ixi. So once in Adelaide, we cleaned her up, then returned her the next day. After that, we dropped our bags at our hotel for that night, and walked 2 km (in 35-degree heat!) to the Adelaide Airport, where we had a special meeting arranged.

Donna and Leigh, Adelaide Airport, SA

It was with Donna, one of the 9-year-old and now 59-year-old kids that Leigh used to coach in Melbourne in the 70s. Donna flew from Melbourne to Adelaide specifically to see Leigh and it was very special. After several hours of catch up, we said our goodbyes and Donna flew back to Melbourne. We flew to Wellington the next day and arrived to find our suitcases were in Sydney. However, they were returned within 48 hours and we are now home reminiscing on what a great trip we’d had in Australia.

This post is the fifteenth and final in a series about our travels through Australia’s south, centre and west. The first post was about Adelaide and can be found here.