Heading West

In the last blog we were postulating about where we would go next from Venus Bay. Once on the road we developed a plan to head straight to Ceduna, where we would fill up the water tanks, wash some clothes and bedding, fix a broken step for the caravan and pick up some food.

We went back to the same caravan park that we had stayed at at the start of our Eyre peninsula discovery tour, the Ceduna Foreshore Caravan Park. On this occasion we were lucky enough to pick up one of the sites that has absolute views over the bay. We booked for three nights.

It didn't take us long to get set up and soon we were chipping away at the list of things that we wanted (or needed) to get done. While doing these things we had some nice chats with our recently retired neighbours, Arnie and Vicky. They are from the Yorke Peninsula and were only 10 days into their trip of a lifetime. They too, were heading west. We exchanged info on lots of stuff that caravaners have in common.

Doing it tough at Ceduna

On the morning of the second day we went for a 6 kilometre walk that took in the jetty and the path along the beachfront to Thevenard (a suburb of Ceduna). The morning was totally calm, continuing a most welcome trend that had started about a week beforehand. The walk was very enjoyable and whilst doing it we worked on the plan for the remainder of the trip.

A tranquil morning at the Ceduna Jetty

We decided to go to Fowlers Bay on the way back. We missed it on the way over because they didn't have a free site that was large enough to fit our caravan. Now that the school holidays are well and truly over, it wasn't a problem to get a site allocated to us. We booked in advance, but for only one night as we were confident of arriving at Fowlers Bay early enough to have the entire afternoon to look around and take some photographs.

From Fowlers Bay we will call in at the "Head of the Bight" for a look and photo opportunity, before making our way to Eucla. We bypassed Eucla on the way to South Australia as we arrived there fairly early in the morning (after camping near Mundrabilla the previous night) and the weather was extremely hot. We just wanted to stay in the car (in the relative cool of the air conditioning) and get to Ceduna. On the return journey we have a visit to the Old Telegraph Station at Eucla planned. I guess everyone who has ever travelled the Eyre Highway has taken a photograph of this reminder of the past, and we aren't any different.

From Eucla we will probably put in a pretty long day and camp the night at Fraser Range or a free camp near there. This will put us within striking distance of Norseman, where we will obtain fuel and continue on our way to Esperance. Depending on what time we get to Esperance we may stay there the night or head west nad camp somewhere along the way, when we've had enough of driving.

The aim is to head in a general westerly direction and bump into the west Coast somewhere close to Busselton or Dunsborough. We have family and friends there that we will catch up with. Along the way we plan to take the "route less travelled". In other words we aren't going to follow the south coast, preferring  to visit some of the inland towns that we have never been to.

Finally, we would make for Perth, calling into to my parent's house at Madora Bay for just a few minutes to say hello (we would be seeing more of them later) and finally making for my Cousin's house at Forrestfield , where we will park the van for a few days.

So, with plans all set in place while on our Ceduna beachside walk, it was just a matter of finishing the little tasks that we had set ourselves and doing a few last things that we missed last time we were here. Dining at the Ceduna Foreshore Hotel/Motel was right up there on the list of things to do and we made plans to have lunch there on Saturday.

The Ceduna Foreshore Hotel/Motel is right next to the caravan park. It is less than two minute's walk from our site. We sat inside in the expansive dining room, preferring it to sitting outside with the alfresco smokers. The dining room has been constructed with very large picture windows to take advantage of the views but we were unfortunate in having to peer through a forest of scaffolding that had been erected whilst the upstairs part of the hotel was being remodelled. Never mind, what we could make of the views was still very pleasant.

The food, that so many fellow travellers had given glowing reviews, was fairly typical "pub fare". It wasn't bad, but it didn't set itself apart from anything else we had eaten on our trip so far. Having said that, I would go back for another meal. The meal prices were reasonable and the portions were sized such that I didn't walk out feeling hungry. If I have one complaint it was that they had television sets located throughout the dining room and the background noise from them was annoying.

We also took many more photographs (this time actually including ourselves in some of them) and went online and ordered yet more photography equipment. Instead of trading the car in on another Land Rover we may have to think about buying a truck to carry all of the gear we have!

Later that afternoon we packed our campsite up, ready for an early departure in the morning. We only had to cover 160 Kilometres to Fowlers Bay, but we did want to leave ourselves plenty of time to look around.

Not long after leaving Ceduna on a beautiful, if slightly overcast but calm morning, we drove into the midst of a dust storm with very strong cross-winds. This did not bode well for our visit to Fowlers Bay as we had already been advised that that it gets pretty windy at the best of times. We arrived at the Bay by 11:00 AM and were pleasantly surprised that the winds were quite moderate. After a quick setup of our site (we don't go to extremes for overnight stays), we went for a wander around the townsite and took some photographs.

The Esplanade, Fowlers Bay

Fowlers Bay Jetty

One of the historic buildings at Fowlers Bay that has not
succumbed to the encroaching sand dunes.

The dinky little laundromat.

Fowlers Bay has a permanent population of about 25 people. It is totally reliant on tourism, with whale watching and fishing being the key activities, a nearby Conservation Reserve attracting nature lovers and finally a quite impressive sand dune system where 4WD enthusiasts can get their kicks. The fishing is reported to be excellent, possibly due to the reduced pressure on the fish stocks with the limited number of visitors that visit the Bay. The caravan park has just 30 sites, and along with a Guest House and a couple of private dwellings that are available for rent, it means that the fishers can't stay in the numbers that they can (and do) elsewhere.

The Bay, itself, is a bit like the bays on the west side of the Eyre Peninsular. It is very exposed to the Summer wind patterns and the seas are quite rough as I type this. I wouldn't venture out today in a tinnie, let alone a kayak! Never mind, for those that absolutely must drop a line in the water there is the mandatory jetty. The lovely lady at the caravan park kiosk informs me that the jetty is quite productive with species such as Leatherjacket, King George Whiting, Sea Mullet, Herring, Snook, Shark and Trevally being caught regularly.

If you are into beach walking there are many kilometres of sandy beach either side of the town jetty. At the moment beaches on the west side of the jetty have a fair bit of seaweed cover, but the other side is clear. This would obviously change on a seasonal basis. Those whale watchers among you will need to come here between May and October to enjoy your pastime. The predominate species is the Southern Right Whale. They come to this Bay to have their calves and these can be seen from the whale watching charter boat, which is owned and operated by Rod and Simone, who also happen to own the caravan park.

Next on the agenda is the crossing into WA. We're not looking forward to the long drive and plan to break it up by taking a good look at the attractions that are out there.