Day 1 and 2 – I’ve travelled this road before

Well we have embarked on the start of our holiday for 2015. Three weeks of the Eyre peninsular and the seafood coast, I hope it lives up to the seafood bit for Di’s sake for me as long as I catch a few then all will be good with the world. There is not a lot to say about our first few days as it’s over “old” ground as far as Pt August which has got me thinking about how many towns seem to be a fulcrum point. Point in case Pt August heading west from Victoria to the Nullarbor or WA or down the Eyre Peninsula or North to Woomera, Coober Pedy, the Alice or Darwin you guessed it you have to go through Pt Augusta. It’s a bit like the flux capacitor on the Delorean from the Back to the future movie, you need it to get anywhere. Not that I have anything against the place but its, potential, going to feature in our 2016 and 2017 blogs. So if you by chance end up in the flux capacitor be sure to visit the arid gardens we is not a bad spot to lose a few hours. We missed the Sturt Desert pea but you can’t have everything.

We stopped at Murray Bridge the first night at a van park on the banks of the Murray. Nice park and would be worth a few nights stay if you had the time.

Sunrise over the Murray

C

Camp at Murray Bridge

So we made Whyalla Sunday and had a quiet day waiting for Gaz and Shaz to arrive. The van park here is right on the shore line and seems well run, clean and quiet. First impressions are it’s an industrial town built mainly in the early days around ship building and steel. These days the ship building has gone but the steel is still here. It’s the only place in Australia were railway track is manufactured. It clearly has suffered a down turn and I hope things turn around for them. This coast has so much to offer and is quite diverse.

Have to love the Sturt Desert Pea

The "Wyhalla" Tide went out quick

The travelling caravan fraternity are an eclectic bunch with the fact you have a van (or tent) the only prerequisite and the great leveller. For most it doesn’t matter the age, condition or value, of you accommodation it’s just a great chance to socialise, swap stories and generally enjoy life. I’m beginning to dislike the term grey nomad as it conjures up images of elderly citz’s traversing the country spending the kid’s inheritance. Whilst there is an element of that, increasingly we have encountered people of all ages and persuasions each with a different story and more than happy to share them with you. We need to consider how lucky we are to be able to have the freedom to do this in relative safety.