Port Augusta

Our first stop was Port Augusta, where we spent three nights in Discoverys caravanpark. Is was so nice to finally see the ocean after having spent quite a while in the desert. We had a walk around the city, where there wasn’t much to see or do really. We did hang out in a park behind Coles and walked along the shore.

One day we walked to the Botanical Garden, but we didn’t realize that the park is HUGE, so it would have been better to take the car and to arrive sooner than 4 in the afternoon. I am pretty sure its a nice park to walk and drive around in. We just decided to walk back after seeing how long the only walking trail we could find was.

Whyalla

Next we drove to Whyalla, which is South Australias third largest city, but its still pretty small to be fair. In Whyalla we stayed another three nights in Discovery Caravanpark, which is located right at the beach. It was quite nice to wake up and have a view of the ocean. It got quite windy and cold during the night in our rooftoptent though.

We found out that it was breeding season for the Australian Giant Cuttlefish at the moment, so they were at Stony Point, which is a 30 minutes drive outside of Whyalla. We rented full snorkelling equipment in Whyalla Diving Services shop, got dressed there and drove straight to Stony Point. It was pretty cool to jump into the water and snorkel around with these fellas. We saw cuttlefish in all sizes, some were really big, starfish, sea urchins and something that looked either like a not-yet-fully-developed-cuttlefish or a transparent squid. Unfortunately, neither of us has an underwater camera or GoPro, so we didn’t get any pictures of the cuttlefish. That would have been pretty cool.

In Whyalla you can also go on a tour of their steelworks or their maritime museum. They have a recreation center, where you can pay $10 entrance and use their pool and spa. You can go on a trip to the Conservation Park, have a walk along the mangroves, walk on the Freycinet trail or walk along the beach and up to Hummocks Hill and around the city. There is actually plenty to do in Whyalla.

Port Lincoln

Port Lincoln was our next stop. Here we were super lucky to spend five amazing nights in a luxury seaview villa at Bay 10. Thanks to our great insurance (we were waiting and still are for repair of our car)! The villa is located just next to the ocean, so there is an amazing view from the bedroom and the porch. Unfortunately, we had three days of rain, while we were staying here, so we didn’t get to do many outdoor activities. On the other hand, we were happy to be staying inside a house and not in our tent.

One day we had a walk on the Parnkalla trail, which stretches along the harbour and beach. We walked from the start of the trail and to Shelly Beach and then we turned around. I am hoping that today, since our campground is located just next to the trail, we will walk the rest.

Just a 30 minutes drive out of Port Lincoln, you find Mikkira Station. To be a day-visitor or camp overnight, you have to get the key from Port Lincoln Visitor Information Centre. Its $30 to stay overnight per vehicle and I think the one-day entrance is the same. So we thought we would rather stay overnight than having to pay another $30 for a campsite somewhere else. The campground is basically just a big field of grass, but it does have to normal toilets and hot showers. To us it seems a little overpriced though.

Nevertheless, we got to see a lot of cute koalas and had a walk around, where we spotted lots of big kangaroos and emus. The old homestead where the original scottish owner of the land and his family lived is just a small walk from where you camp and you can walk inside and see how they lived.

The next day, we drove to Fishery Bay. First we drove down Whalers Station Rd, where you end up at a parking spot, from where you are overlooking the bay. You can walk out from here and have some good views of the landscape and ocean. Next we drove down to the beach, walked all along the beach and had a cold swim in a little ‘rock pool’. In summer the beach is supposed to be really nice to camp at and to have a swim. We decided not to camp on the beach because of the wind and the tide. Instead we drove down Right Whale rd and found a spot to camp where we had a bit of shelter. We didn’t feel the wind as much as on the other side of the bay, and we had a beautiful view of the bay too. We liked it a lot and we are thinking about going back there for a night.

TIP: If you continue down Right Whalers Rd, you’ll get onto Whalers Way Rd. To enter Whalers Way, you have to get a key from the Visitor Centre. This is privately owned land, where you can also camp for $30 a night and you’ll be able to drive along the coastline for scenic views. We haven’t been there, but now that I am writing about it, I feel a little tempted to go…

Right now, we are waiting to go to a mechanic on wednesday for a small repair and after that we are heading to Port Lincoln Nationalpark. We are really excited for that since we have already been able to get a sneak peak of the park, when we have been driving to Mikkira and Fishery Bay. It looks beautiful! So I’ll give the nationalpark a post to itself.