Lincoln National Park

On arrival at the park we paid our day fees and decided to drive to Stamford Hill and do the hike up the hill for spectacular views of Boston Bay, Port Lincoln and the park.  On the way we stopped at various viewing points to take photos of the coastline. The hike was 1.1km to the top, where there was a Matthew Flinders monument. It was fairly steep and took about 45mins return. We then ventured further into the park to Donington beach and lighthouse. There was also a tiny island close to the coast.  On the way back we visited September beach, and then we went and walked on the Sleaford Dunes.

Tumby Bay to Port Lincoln

Before leaving Tumby Bay we took a stroll along the jetty which was very quiet, except for one boy fishing.  After a quick stop at the bakery for Aileen to buy some jelly slice we headed towards Port Lincoln.  On arrival 50 kms later we found a lookout which has incredible panoramic views of Port Lincoln. Then we visited an old mill which is the oldest building in Port Lincoln.  After a quick stop at the supermarket and cheap as chips we headed to the National Park.

Whyalla to Tumby Bay

After waking early, we decided to go for a walk through the gardens ajacent to our room.  We then walked to the foreshore and marina and out on the jetty.  As we were leaving town we visited our 1st op shop on this trip and the Whyalla library.  The rest of the day was spent driving down the coast  toward Port Lincoln.  We have finally left the Ports that are involved with heavy industry, and now all the seaside towns are quiet fishing villages. I don't know where South Australians go for holidays but it does not seem to be the Eyre peninsula. First stop was Cowell where the world's oldest jade deposit was found. I wanted to buy some jade but could not find anything I liked. We also did the first of our mangrove board walks. We also stopped at Arno Bay and Port Neill before stopping at Tumby Bay for the night.

Port Pirie to Whyalla

We first checked out Port Pirie's industrial areas which consisted of oil tanks, grain silos and a 250 metre smokestack. Leaving Port Pirie we heard an alert for extreme winds.  It was also going to be 32 degrees with a total fire ban.  Our first stop was Port Germein which has a 1.7 km jetty and was at one time the longest wooden jetty in the Southern hemisphere.  The wind was so strong, that we only walked part of the way out.  Coming back the wind was almost impossible to walk into.  Next stop was Port Augusta where we viewed the power station from a lookout.  We then visited the Port Augusta arid lands botanic gardens, where we saw wildflowers and Sturt desert pea.  There also was the Matthew Flinders lookout which overlooked mangroves, red cliffs and Spencer Gulf.  The water tower lookout was our last stop before we left town.  Last stop was Whyalla where after finding somewhere to stay, we went for a paddle in the sea. The water was very cool and clear. The town is overshadowed  by the huge buildings of the steel works and smoking chimneys.  We visited Hummock Hill which had views of the city, steel works and coast from a WWII observation post.

Largs Pier to Port Pirie

From Largs Pier we headed up the coast. First stop was St Kilda, a small backwater not far from Port Adelaide. It had many mangroves and an adventure playground with a huge slide and a flying fox. Next we headed up the highway with a detour into Port Wakefield which was very quiet but had many nice old houses. Moonta was next, here we did a tour of the old copper mining site by train. Mining stopped in the 1920's but many remnants remain. After visiting a miners cottage and taking a look at Moonta bay we continued on our way, stopping at Wallaroo to have a look at the huge wheat silos and a large chimney left from copper mining days. This place has a nice bay but a horrible new marina. From here we went through Kadina and Port Broughton before stopping at Port Pirie for the night.

Saturday 27th - Largs Bay to Port Pirie

Left hotel around 9.30, heading up the coast. First stop was St Kilda, a small coastal town. Plenty of mangroves and a giant outdoor playground, with a large slide and flying fox. Continued on up the coast with a short detour into Port Wakefield, which had many nice old buildings. Next stop was Moonta where we went on train tour of the old copper mining area which was operational from the 1860's to 1920's.  We had a quick stop at an old  miners cottage for some photos and went out to Moonta bay to check out the sea view. Wallaroo was next with its huge grain silos and large chimney left over from the copper mining days. From here we went through Kadina and Port Broughton before ending up in Port Pirie for the night.

Friday September 26th - Mildura to Largs Bay

Got on the road later than expected, but got to Harndorf for a late lunch at Otto's bakery. From here we went to Carrick Hill and had a guided tour of the house.  Next stop was Larg's Pier Hotel.  We have a 2 bedroom spa apartment with balcony.  The bathroom is bigger than the bedrooms.  We went to an Indian restaurant called Journey to Everest, which was the nicest Indian meal I have had for a while. We also visited the jetty nearing sunset.