Life is Full of Unanswered Questions

I can understand why the early Dutch explorers just sailed by. If they could survive the treacherous coastline, they would have considered the land totally useless. The only things that seems to grow are rocky outcrops. Stretching into the distance in all directions are rocky hills, boulders and stones. What I don't understand is the need to have the paddocks fenced. Usually the fences are rather ricketty structures topped with barbed wire. Is this to stop the small rocks (aka stones) from getting out onto the road and getting gravelled?

I can understand that caravan park owners have to make a living. I can understand that the season is relatively short. What I don't understand is why they make it so expensive that campers often can't afford to stay there. I am sure that if rates were slightly lower, there would be a higher income from people staying longer or even staying in preference to national parks. Here in SA an overnight in a NP costs $9 entry and another $ 5 - 9 per person (depending on how old you are) per night. To then go into town and find a shower may be another $2 or $3 plus the fuel to get there. The twenty dollars I paid in Elliston was money very well spent, where they gave me a solo's rate. When rates are more than $30 I have to think twice about staying. And why do most of them charge me the same in my very small camper (and only one person) as two people in a huge rig often with trailers and other attachments?

I can understand that people who live locally have to go about their daily business. I know they have places to go and things to do while I wander around playing tourist. What gets to me is the total intolerance some drivers have for someone who is obviously lost and obviously a visitor with interstate license plates. Many of these men (and I am being deliberate in my choice of words) would admit that the tourist dollar helps keep the economy afloat in a lot of isolated townships. If pushed, they would probably also admit that one rude driver more than balances out the goodwill generated by ten welcoming locals. What I don't understand is how they think that a long loud blast of the horn, with or without the accompanying hand gestures, helps either driver.

I can understand that councils set time limits on parking near shops and in city centres. It means that drivers move on and free up parking spaces, so that more people can spend their money. What I don't understand is why there would be a 4 hour limit on the foreshore in Port Lincoln when parking is regulated from 8.30am to 1pm. Why would you be expected to move your car for half an hour?

.A bronze sculpture of Makybe Diva has pride of place in the grassed area along the waterfront. Her owners lived here but she never visited. I can understand, though, that the people of Port Lincoln have claimed her as their own. The process of making the sculpture was interesting. A base was made of timber, it was covered and shaped with plasticine and then bronzed. What I don't understand is where they would have been able to get 5000 kg of plasticine. Every school in Australia must have been having to make their own play dough for years.

In a caravan park, there is a hierarchy of visitors and I can understand that. Those contributing most to the park owners are those who stay in self-contained cabins at about $150 or more a night. They provide work for cleaners and laundry workers but, as cabins cater for 6-8 people, they are self sufficient and don't mix with the regular campers. Then there are the owners of caravans and motorhomes who use the powered sites and generally have an amenities block close by, which they use in preference to their own facilities which have to be topped up, emptied etc. They pay around $30 - 40 depending on the quality of the park. Spread around the outskirts of the park are those who use unpowered sites, those in tents, cars and people like me who don't bother with power. However, we also pay well for the privilege, usually between $20 and $30 a night. The most important thing for us is the ability to use the showers and toilets. What I don't understand is why a caravan park like the one I am in now puts the amenities right up among the self-contained cabins for those people who don't need to use the amenities. From my camp site, the walk is at least 200m and that is a long way uphill, past the cabins, in the dark with your legs crossed. (Fortunately the smaller parks are more accessible.)

I understand how simple life is with a GPS system. Some are easier than others to follow. Unfortunately GPS Jane died a lingering death along the way. She has been replaced by Kerry who has very odd intonations. I was so pleased to get off juBILLee highWAY west that it was worth getting lost to try to clear my mind of her directions. What I can't understand is how people get out of a town without a GPS. It is easy to get in as you often directions for hundreds of kilometres. Once you get into a town, or worse a city, there are no signs until you get on the road out. It is possible (not that I do it!) to drive along every likely road before finding the first sign to where you want to go, often 5 or 6km out of town. I have a system. Just like a search and rescue team, I work a grid of ever-widening blocks till I hit the edge of town. You can be lost for a long time. Thanks Kerry, for small mercies. At least you get me on the right road, even if you drive me crazy along the way

Fresh Eyre and Sunshine - the Eyre Peninsula

 As I drove along some long empty roads in the last few days, it struck me how deserted they are and how isolated a driver can be. In some cases it was almost an hour before I saw a vehicle approaching. In my best Kath and Kim impersonation, I wanted to call out ‘Look at moi, look at moi’, wave hysterically and toss streamers or balloons from the car. But what did I do? I raised an index finger laconically from the steering wheel and received a similar acknowledgement from the other driver. In seconds we were out of sight of each other, facing the deserted road again. Contact made! It can be interesting. If someone doesn't wave, I tend not to wave to the next driver who invariably does. So I get back into the swing, waving to  the next car who may or may not acknowledge me. I think there should be a rule that if you are driving east or north, you should raise the index finger first. That frees up the decision making for those travelling west or south.

One of the challenges of living cheaply on the road is finding a good camping site. On my way east from Streaky Bay I detoured twice to look at bush camping. On one road the corrugations were so bad that the fillings dropped out of my teeth before I hit the sandy stretch where I slewed around so wildly that somehow the fillings got thrown back into place. I gave up before I got to the camping spot. (I should have read my Camps book more carefully and I would have known that there is a world of difference between a camp spot and a camp ground.) The next spot I managed to get to but found three small turn-out areas. There were two vans in one, and nothing and nobody else in sight. I gave this one a miss too.

 The previous night I had had a similar experience. I had my Camps Australia book and found what seemed like a good spot a few kilometres south of Streaky Bay. I followed the signs, found a small settlement but with no sign of the toilets and showers promised in the book. Going on a bit, finally I found the sign to the bay I was looking for.  The road was an adventure in itself. Occasionally the track divided into two.  The one I took invariable ended in a soft sandy bog or a washout and I had to reverse to try the other. I don't often (I should say, I don't always) talk to myself but I was questioning my wisdom for quite a while before I had the sense to turn around. Two other tracks failed to take me to a camping area. Then, just as I was about to give up and head for the town again, I saw two vans parked  just off the road and there it was, the sign saying this was free camping. When I went to the other drivers and inquired where I should get my certificate for finding the place, it turned out that they were also expecting some reward. Two other rigs arrived shortly and we had quite a comfortable stay. There was a toilet, a hybrid which I have got used to. There was a shower, a hose hanging under an almost empty tank. There was also a great sense of camaradie as we all set up and then shared a drink. The view along the way had been worth detouring for but it took a while before peace of mind kicked in.

Elliston Child Care Centre

Along this stretch of the road, there are really very few camping grounds (as distinct from camping spots) so I have been forced into a caravan park for three nights. As it happens, it is one of the few that I have seen that caters for solo travellers. At $20 a night, it is not much more than some of the camping spots which often charge $10 plus a permit for camping in a national park or conservation area.

 I am in Elliston which calls itself the Salmon Capital of Australia. It certainly seems to be a fisherman's paradise as most campers here come just for the fishing. They go out for a couple of hours and come back with a dozen or so fish, many of which they give away so they can make room in their fridge for the ones they are going to catch tomorrow. 


I stood on the jetty for ages waiting to see a small penguin that people had told me about. Then I thought I saw it on the rocks and watched intently for ages so that I'd know when it was swimming towards me for a photo. But when it flapped  its wings and flew off, I gave up on it! Who wants a flying penguin! I went for a drive along the cliffs to look at some sculptures which survive the ravages of the wind and rain with varying degrees of success. Apparently I was too early for this year's new sculptures but it was interesting to see the variety of subjects covered. If it doesn't already exist, there should be a law, The Travellers' Law of Local Events and Exhibitions i.e. it happened last week or it won't happen till the day after you leave!

Yesterday my neighbour Marco had been fishing with his young son and, after he had cleaned and filleted his fish, gave me a few fillets of either whiting or tommy ruffs. I am not sure what I had as I have been checking with a few of the fisher folk as they cleaned their catch and the fish look the same to me. I had assumed they were whiting because of the size. Last night I went to the bbq area and cooked them in breadcrumbs. Lovely! I had a few chats with two older fellows in a tent on the other side of me. I was trying to get a peek into their tent to check on the sleeping arrangements as they seemed to disappear into their tent early in the night. However today one of them managed to drop the phrase 'My wife and I' into the conversation about every two minutes of so. Perhaps he could read my mind. This evening I've had happy hour with three groups who have just arrived for up to six weeks camping and fishing. It was probably a good time to meet with them as they will be a tight knit community within a few days, as long time residents.

One lazy soul, thirty steps down to the lookout

Two hardy souls part way down the 284 steps

This is a very quiet little town probably made up equally of residents and campers as both caravan parks are apparently popular for most of the year. There is the usual bakery and cafe, an IGA and not much else. The past two days I have just walked close to home. Today I did the cliff top drive to look at sculptures. These are replaced regularly as most things don't survive nature's force for long. I also went to Lock's Well, the main feature of which is a 284 step staircase to the beach. I could have camped there free as there are two vans that have been there for a fortnight as well a few that have come and gone.