Streaky Bay to Cactus Beach

Streaky Bay

On our last day with the family in Streaky Bay we woke early for the Anzac Day Dawn Service. It was held on the Jetty and lucky for us it wasn't as cold as we expected! 

After the service we packed up the camp and headed out for a late Breakfast with the family at Mocean (if anyone is ever in streaky you must dine at this place!) the food is amazing! We then said our goodbyes to the Family and headed off into the unknown with just ourselves.. 

We really had such a great time with my family in Streaky Bay. Dinners and drinks around the fire on the beach each night, lots of fishing and Razor fishing with Papa and the weather was sensational! 

Point Brown, Smoky Bay

Only 60km or so from Streaky we arrived at Point Brown. Setting up camp on the beach front we had the entire stretch of the beach to ourselves! During the day we explored the Rock pools which where as deep as I am tall. The fishing was awesome! Without much effort, and within our first hour or so of fishing on the second day, we had more than filled our freezer with Large salmon that all measured a good 45cm + !! We also caught whiting, tommies and garfish. 

(I'm not sure what I enjoyed more, eating them, or the fight they put up bringing them in through the HUGE waves that crashed on the beach!) 

After 3 days at Point Brown we decided to head on.

Cactus Beach 

Leaving Point Brown we drove into The Smoky Bay township and picked up another 4 doz oysters! Yum!!! 

The drive from Smoky Bay to Cactus Beach was slooooowwww to say the least! The wind really picked up and the dust was so thick at times we had to stick to 60km a lot of the time! We stopped in to stock up supplies in Ceduna and get a photo with the Big Oyster (glad we didn't go out of our way to see this one! Lololol) 

As we arrived at Penong and passing the "1000km till the next shop" sign, the wind eased and we headed down the bumpy corrugated road to Cactus, stopping only once to fulfil out curiosity about what it feels like to walk in the very pink water of the salt plains :) not surprisingly it was quite salty! Lololol 

At Cactus the campsite is awesome, and one I would highly reccomend. The sites are spotless, each site has a bin that gets emptied daily, there are CLEAN flushing toilets (these are extremely rare and far apart when mainly "free/cheap camping it") and even fresh showers!! (Cold, but after only have salt water baths and washing from a bucket for a few days, a fresh water shower is AWESOME!!) the owner delivers wood to the fire pits each night and all the other campers (majority being surfers) are more than friendly and great to have a chat with. 

Today was our second day at Cactus and we went for a drive to check out foreshore around the coast. The surf was huge, but not a great day for surfing due to the storm overnight. (Saw some pretty cool lightning bolts in the distance last night.) We walked along the jetty and the Cliff tops also today, did a bit of 4 wheel driving. Ella spent half of the morning twisting a wobbly front tooth.. The end result being a my baby losing her "baby smile... :(((( (she was more than happy with this, me not so much.. My baby's growing up way too fast!!! (another moment that I remember how fortunate and grateful we are to be able to spend this extra special quality family time together on this trip before my babies are completely grown up!) 

We finished off our day
eating some of our Oysters from Smoky Bay. 

 Tomorrow will be our last full day in Cactus before we head to our next destination :)) 

Streaky Bay

My family arrived on the 12th April. Mum, dad, Shakira and Imogen. (Pretty sure the entire park heard their arrival..;)) 

Since then we have spent our days catching countless fish, crabs and razor fish with Papa. We have spent most nights indulging in our catch around a campfire and making the most of the $7 a dozen huge oysters.. (Our protein intake must be 10x the reccomended daily intake and our freezers are full, but I'm not complaining!) 

The girls spend most their days in and out of the water, catching small fish in jars with bread and riding their bikes around.

Last night we had a sausage sizzle with about 30 of Papas friends from the caravan park. The sausage sizzle was  funded by the collection of all the can and bottles everyone collects during their stay here! There was more than enough Steak sandwiches and sausages for everyone to eat and take some home! Home made liquors and ports were flowing freely as we all sat around a campfire on the waters edge. Was defiantly a enjoyable night! 

This morning we rose early to grab another 90 razor fish and we plan to cook them for dinner tonight! Yum yum!!

 

Moonta to Streaky Bay

Having had no phone service the past week or so (due to having a few dramas whilst changing from Optus to Telstra) I have some catching up to do with this blog already!! So it could be a long one! 

Moonta

Whilst in Moonta my Auntie Liz, Sister Elke and 3 her girls came up for a night to "surprise" our girls. The look on Tori and Ella's face when they bumped into their cousins was priceless. 

We spent the next 2 days together checking out the sites around Moonta, playing on the beach and dining at "Ma and Pa's" (not the actual name, but a name we had previously gave to the little kiosk/cafe on the foreshore ran by a lovely elderly couple) and of course the Moonta Railway Lollyshop..

Gary and Liz went out fishing early in the morning and came back with a giant squid and enough crabs for dinner! YUM!! 

Packing up after 3 days we headed off to our next stop..

Fitzgerald Bay

Setting up in Fitzgerald Bay, a quiet little campsite on the beach not far from Whyalla. We spent the next day and a half catching up on some much needed rest! (I think after all the work that went into the preparation for this trip a good rest was needed!) So not a lot to report! 

Lipson Cove 

From Fitzgerald Bay we headed to Lipson Cove for 2 nights. A gorgeous little place with a small island that you can basically walk to and plenty of great fishing! I would have loved to of stayed longer here, but as we are meeting family in Streaky Bay in a few days our time was limited.. 

We set up in a campsite right near the beach. Spent our time fishing and swimming in the crystal clear water. 

Caught more than enough fish to feed us for atleast the next few days. YEAH!!

Sheringa 

From Lipson we took our time driving down the coast. We stopped at Coffin Bay for lunch and to stock up on some fresh Oysters!!! At $8 a dozen for some really nice Oysters I was one happy customer!! 

Finally we arrived late in the arvo at Sheringa Beach. OMG what a place! Huge white sandunes, a awesome surf break, crystal clear water and after stumbling across a huge dead tree, (which gave us more than a decent pile of wood for a campfire for the next 2 night) Well, I was one happy camper!! 

We spent the rest of the afternoon running up and down the sandunes with the girls Bodyboards - Great Fun!!! 

We finished off the day chatting around a Campfire eating roasted Marshmallows.

Last night was our last night at Sheringa. We ate Oysters Kilpatrick for dinner that Ella, with some help from Gary prepared. We ate fresh fish and finished off the night relaxing around a Campfire with some of the other Campers nearby after inviting them to join us. Was great to hear about other peoples travels and adventures. Already we have started running into people we recognise from some of our previous campsites. Will be interesting to see how many times we bump into some of them on our travels! 

This morning we packed up early and drove to Streaky Bay where we will be spending the next 2 weeks with some of My Family.. Mum, Dad, Papa (can't wait to do some fishing with him!) and to the girls delight, their cousins Imogen and Shakira. 

We took our time with the drive, stopping at Elliston to check out the Sculptures along the Cliff tops and a stop over at Talia Caves. The steep cliffs, colourful rock formations and the deep rock pools where stunning and well worth the detour. 

Late afternoon we finally made it to Streaky Bay. We set up camp metres away from the waters edge. 

Looking forward to the next 2 weeks with the Family.. <3 

Xx 

 

 

Day 1!! April 1st 2014

Since my husband Gary 39yrs, and myself, Bree 30yrs met 14yrs ago, we have always shared the same passion for travel, and a dream of one day travelling Australia. 

Now 14yrs and two beautiful children - Tori 9yrs and Ella 7yrs old later, we have just set out to fulfill this dream by travelling Australia for atleast the next 12 months. 

It all started approx 9 months ago when we decided to make our dreams a reality. We brought a 80 series Landcruiser and begun renovating our Windsor Caravan, (which we had already owned for approx 8 years.) We spent countless hours on the internet researching anything and everything to do with travelling Australia and also the best way to Home Educate our children whilst travelling. 

Early this morning, we finally said our goodbyes to our Family, Friends and home in Adelaide, South Australia for our first destination - Moonta, SA.

The drive over went well. The car is by no means "fast." But after many tests, is (hopefully) more than reliable and is great to drive. (Mum-Bree, does all the driving ;)) 

On our arrival the girls can barely contain their excitement. We set up our caravan right on the beach front at the Moonta Bay Caravan Park.

We then spent the remainder of the afternoon exploring the Coastline on our push bikes and went for a walk up the jetty. 

In the evening we sat and watched the Sunset, whilst celebrating our first night with a bottle of Champagne. 

I have to keep pinching myself... After a lot of hard work, we are finally "ON THE ROAD, LIVING OUR DREAM!!"