27th August 2014 – Ceduna to Coffin Bay

Dot &  Michael are rudely awaken around 5.00am by dripping condensation  from the inside of the tent roof onto their faces.  Wiping the inside of the tent at 5.00am is not fun, with the paper towels becoming saturated very quickly. No such problem in the caravan for David & Barbara.

We pack up and this morning Michael manages to have a shower plus breakfast before leaving.  Before we start Dot rings Coffin Bay Caravan Park to arrange cabin facilities for tonight….we don’t want to get there and find them all taken.  We are on the road just after 8.00am, with a target of 395klm for the day.

We travel through very diverse landscapes, from rolling hills, sand dunes & lakes, canola & grain crops, limestone littered paddocks and dry walls.

Our initial stop is at “Murphy’s Haystacks” , and unusual grouping of large stones up to 10m high…..some resemble the old style haystack shape.

We decide to stop at Elliston for lunch and a break from driving.   At the entrance to the town, there is a Cliff-top ocean view road that provides stunning views of the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula and the island off shore.  At different locations on the cliff edge are some interesting sculptures -  Easter Island Type Heads and human face.

We then find a bakery for some bacon & cheese rolls and off to make lunch.  Nice and fresh and tasty

Then off for the remaining 155 klm, which becomes demanding for the last hour, despite the the varying scenery. Dot & Michael use the car radio, via Dot’s ipod to do some French lessons to keep awake.

We enter Coffin Bay which is very scenic and are greeted by Western grey kangaroos grazing beside the office.   The campground is very large and well laid out with a range of basic and villa cabin accommodation, plus camping sites among the treed  and grassy areas.   David & Barbara are located not to far from us, but it is in a slightly sloping grassed area, which David says is not good because it upsets the drainage flows within the caravan.

We take a quick drive around the town and take in the views from the lookout ….spectacular.    Emus grazing beside the Esplanade [ Main street] into town.  We locate an oyster production house, where David orders a dozen unopened oysters for $8.00,….but with no change for his $10.00, David finishes up getting around 20.  At happy hour we all enjoyed watching David shuck the oyster shells, whilst getting a leg shower from the water coming from the shells. David’s eating of the oysters took about a tenth of the time it took to shuck.  The Yellowtail Bubbles was very refreshing.

We shared providing the cooking ingredients tonight, as tomorrow night we are dining out as it will be our last night together.   Cornish Beef sausages [ from Kalgoorlie] and vegetables, with some nice red wine.   After mains, Barbara gets the frypan out and cooks pancakes which we have apples & ice cream with.   Funny that David’s appetite was down after all those oysters.