Spencer Gulf

Port Lincoln

It’s funny you know. So many dots on a map, so many towns we’ve passed through. The longer we’ve been on the road, the less attractive they’ve become. We USED to do all the touristy stuff, but of late they’ve become mere filling stations, way points to roads and destinations less traveled. Our ambivalence about Port Lincoln was made worse by the storm front that had settled over this seaside town. Cold, rain, misery. We only ventured out for the essentials and we were out of there as soon as the front looked like moving on.

Hairdressers – the King Solomon’s mine of local goss and where to’s. Can’t recommend them enough. I walked out with a list of the best free camping spots between Port Lincoln and Whyalla and, with a tail wind whipping us along, set sail for Carrow Wells.

Carrow Wells

We stopped at Tumby Bay for a coffee and then headed further up the coast. Carrow Wells is right on the beach. First Australians had tapped into the local supply here for thousands of years and the pioneers were quick to dig several wells. Local farmers used to bring drays from around Carrow (now Port Neil) to load up until 1943 when the pipeline was extended. The worst of the rain had passed but the wind was still bitter. Finding a protected spot was impossible, so we had to settle for having one side of the van protected by the other.

The historic windmill was spinning fiercely for most of the three days but occasional forays along the beach were helped by the protective dunes. Thank God, the internet was excellent. We spent most of the time alternating between Kayo and Netflix. With green fields and farm houses above the sandy coastline, it looked about as Cornish coast as one could imagine.

Port Gibbon

There are lots of places to stop on the 400klm journey between Port Lincoln and Port Augusta and we probably missed most of them. However, Point Gibbon was on that list, and the campground was luxury, in no small part, because the forecast easing conditions were only hours away . As you can see, we weren’t the only ones waiting patiently.

The next morning felt eerie, so quiet. Calm weather after two weeks was a delightful change of pace. We were essentially site seeing this leg and were happy to push onto the historic township of Cowell.

Cowell

Chances for fishing are starting to run thin. Now the wind has abated, Tamika is keen to follow up a tip about fishing off the wharf at Cowell. “Guaranteed” spruiked the blog. We should have paid more attention to the baleful look a local dog walker gave us as we headed out to the jetty. “Goodluck” she said, dripping with sarcasm. We tried, oh we tried. But it was sooooo cold. In the end, we took brief refuge back at the van before warming up to some pre-caught fish at the local takeaway. As pretty as Cowell is the forecast storm hurried us on to Whyalla, and the gradual realization that we were closing in on the end of our epic ’round ‘Stralia first leg.