Just Keep on travelling: Port Lincoln

Historic ship at Whyalla

After we said good bye to Julia and David we decided that we were tired of sitting around Port Augusta with no real answers of when we would get our car back, we packed up and decided to head down the Eyre Peninsula. Firstly we stopped at Whyalla which is just 70 kms from Port Augusta. Whyalla is the home of a large One Steel mining company and is also a well known ship building area. The original ship built in the area, named the Whyalla, was purchased by the local council and placed on show rather than go to the scrap yards. We didn’t get the opportunity to go on a tour of the ship but I am sure it would have been interesting.

Info re ship building at Whyalla

One Steel at Whyalla

Hilton Motel at Port Lincoln

We continued down the Peninsula stopping at Port Neil and Arno Bay arriving at Port Lincoln mid afternoon. We booked into the Hilton Motel – not part of the Hilton group but luxury for us after four months in the caravan. The motel is on the foreshore and we enjoyed walking along the beach. The weather was nice and warm and groups of children were in the shallow waters. There is a long jetty and as Port Lincoln is well known for fishing there were quite a few people trying their luck.

Front of Hilton Motel at Port Lincoln

On Monday we visited the Information Centre and made a booking for a tuna tour on Tuesday morning. We then headed to Coffin Bay – this area is well known for oyster farming and fishing in general. Unfortunately it was raining when we arrived so we didn’t wander too far but enjoyed watching an abalone boat being retrieved at the boat ramp. After lunch we headed to Coffin Bay National Park. Unfortunately for us we could enter the park as there is an entrance fee and although we had cash on us we didn’t have $7 in change. There is no ability to pay on line for a day pass and credit cards are not accepted. We decided that we would have to give the area a miss as the majority of the park is 4wd only and as we had the rental car we couldn’t go on those tracks anyway. We were disappointed though as the sand driving looked really interesting.

We drove around the bay and stopped off at an Oyster farm. The area was really interesting and the village reminded us of Akaroa in New Zealand’s South Island.

Bad luck is still with us. We took the car when we went out for dinner and as Peter pulled out of the car park he caught a gutter and down went the tyre. He wasn’t too impressed to have to change the tyre as it was extremely humid. As guessed the tyre had to be replaced – our gift to Budget!

Tuesday morning we went to the Marina to join the tuna trip. The three hour boat trip took us out to a pontoon in Boston Bay where we were able to feed the tuna by hand, for those who wanted too there was swimming with the tuna, and feeding and underwater viewing of numerous fish. It was a great trip. On the way back into town we passed the tuna farm nets which are being prepared for the new season which commences on the 1^st December and also mussel farming. We passed close into the foreshore and beside two large grain ships that had arrived in port. We left and returned to

After a quick lunch we commenced the return trip to Port Augusta, a trip of 370 kms. We still did not have a decision on when the Patrol would be ready for us to return to Melbourne, but we did know that the insurance company had accepted the claim and repairs would be undertaken.