Streaky Bay, SA – Yertle has a shocker

The drive today had more rain but fortunately there wasn’t too much. On the way we stopped in Penong to walk around the windmill museum. It was great, with about 25 windmills of all shapes and sizes, as well as a swing that drove a water pump. The kids loved it and it make understanding how windmills work a lot easier. Em really liked the windmills and decided to write an information piece on it which she added to her blog page which you can see here. We had initially planned to stay in Ceduna first but after all the long drives and overnight stops we were keen to just stay in one place for a few days so decided to push on to Streaky Bay. After setting up and having a quick dinner, we got the kids to bed as the cold descended. We got talking to a lovely couple that were camped next to us and ended up sitting up with them that night. It was really cold and in spite of not being sure if fires were allowed, they had a fire pit so set it up and we sat around the fire chatting until after midnight which was super late for us. The only reason we made it that late was due to the time zone changes so it was really only about 10pm according to our body clocks.

The next morning while having breakfast, I noticed something hanging down under the trailer (aka Yertle) that shouldn’t have been. Upon closer inspection I discovered that one of the shock absorbers had snapped off one end and was now dangling uselessly. The other shock appeared to have blown. Clearly my daily checking of all things mechanical had been slipping over the months. Not prepared to drive any further before I replaced the shocks, and being a Friday, I got straight onto a mechanic in town to try and resolve the issue. He was super helpful and after a few phone calls and taking the old one up to him, we managed to work out what we needed as a replacement. He ordered the part and told me it would arrive the next morning which was much better than I expected. While we were all in town we went to the local op shop where the kids each found some new trainers before we headed to a local bakery for a lunch of pies and sausage rolls. We then found a craft shop which Kat and the kids had a great time exploring – there were so many clever craft ideas made by locals. The final stop was the the skate park across the road, and although the kids didn’t have their bikes, they still had fun running around for a while. Back at camp we all just relaxed that afternoon before dinner and bed.

The next morning we slept in before having a lazy morning at camp. I heard from the mechanic around 10am telling the parts had arrived and that he would drop them down to me at the caravan park in 5 minutes – how’s that for great service. I then put the two new shocks in and the camper was looking much happier. While I finished that job Kat and Em rode into town to look at a couple of garage sales before Oli and I headed in to join them at the second garage sale where the kids bought a bunch of DVD’s for $1 a pop given they were watching a bit more in the car at the moment with all the long drives. We all then rode to the skate park so the kids could have a go on their bikes before returning to camp for lunch. We let the kids enjoy one of their new DVD’s that afternoon while I headed up the road to give the car a much needed wash. That afternoon the caravan park put on a sausage sizzle so it was an easy dinner all round. We played a bit of soccer as well before walking out onto the mud flats which were exposed at low tide. We found some cool shells as well as ship wreck covered in ‘green slime’ which the kids loved. We didn’t get the kids down until around 9pm that night, still thrown by the time zone change.

The next day we drove along the coastal loop road to visit some beautiful spots. First stop was Tractor Beach where the kids found heaps of new shells they hadn’t seen before. After stopping at a couple of cliff top lookouts offering view over the bays below, we drove to a place called The Granites. After walking down a huge wooden staircase, we found ourselves at a beautiful protected bay with loads of granite rocks lining the water. The kids got straight into exploring them, with Oli headed for a big rock in the middle of the shallows. He made it most of the way before getting stuck leaning between two rocks above the water, so I had to head back up the stairs to the car, get changed, then wade out to help him to his final destination. Once satisfied that he made it out there, I helped him back to shore without getting too wet. We continued on from there to Point Westall, which had a rocky road similar to the one out to Steep Point (the western most point of mainland Australia) before arriving at Smooth Pool, an area full of rock pools for the kids to explore while we sat and enjoyed lunch watching them play. After an hour or so playing there, we headed to our last stop which was the Yanerbie sand dunes. Being the only people there, we had fun wandering around the area, watching the sand flying off the peaks of the dunes. After about half an hour there we drove back to camp. While Oli and I played paper planes back at camp, Em and Kat rode back up to the skate park as Em was keen for another play up there. The wind picked up that afternoon so it was a pretty unpleasant time at camp and we headed to bed early after packing up what we could.

The last morning after breakfast Kat headed to the camp kitchen with the kids so they could update their journals while I packed up the camper. We then swung by the bakery on the way out to pick up some treats for morning tea as well as coffees for us, knowing that we had a few more long driving days ahead of us before we would arrive at Dubbo where we planned to stay for a few days and visit the zoo.