Category: Tagalong23

Welcome to the Touring Wombats website and travel blog for our 2023 Caravan Tagalong. This website serves two purposes…

1. The Touring Wombats Travel blog for his trip, which is basically split into 2 categories:
   • Tagalong23 with 17 (mostly) Bailey caravans traveling through South Australia over 4 weeks
   • Post-Tagalong23 where four of our group head west from Streaky Bay, Eyre Peninsula SA
   • Check out the Blog Index page for a list of all posts
     
2. The Tagalong23 Member’s website, including:
   • Itinerary for Tagalong23
   • Attendees Information about Tagalong23
   • Locations the Tagalong visited, along with the planned activities and attractions
   • Tagalong Memories – lots of photos from previous Bailey Tagalongs
     

About Renmark

Renmark, located on the Murray River, is a prosperous town in the heart of rich Riverland area where limes, olives, apricots, grapes, plums, garlic and oranges are all grown. Like so many towns in the area Renmark is characterised by wide streets and handsome riverbank parklands. This is a town where it is possible to enjoy the majesty of the Murray by hiring a bicycle and cycling along the riverbank; hiring a canoe or kayak and paddling along the river; or visiting the historic boats – the PS Industry and Argo Barge – moored at the river’s edge (sourced from the Aussie Towns website – click for more).

Our accommodation

The Tagalong23 group was booked into the Riverbend Caravan Park in Renmark (maplink), South Australia, for the beginning of our trip. This park was totally inundated in the destructive 2022 floods and they have done a fantastic job rehabilitating the whole of the park. Our site was right on the magnificent Murray River.

“Welcome to Tagalong23” Happy Hour

All of the group gathered for our 1st Happy Hour around the communal campfire, where the organising team handed our their welcome packs, which included tourist info for the entire trip plus some goodies as well as a souvenir tea towel.

It was a great gathering, meeting up with old friends from previous tagalongs as well as greeting some new members to the group.

The “Chook Man”

There’s a local celebrity in Renmark who cruises up and down the Murray River in his ramshackle house boat (if that’s what you’d call it). We were fortunate enough to find him moored up in his regular location at the Renmark Wharf. His “house boat” is constructed from (basically) junk that he has found along the river. He even has some chooks on board.

On one of our days in Renmark he sailed down the river, past the caravan park, to a spot near the bridge. He then basically crashed parked it into the riverbank bringing heaps of tree branches crashing down all over his boat – very weird and strange.

Jenga Happy Hour

On our 2nd last night our happy hour consisted of gathering around the caravan park’s communal fire pit for several rounds of Jenga.

About Jenga – Jenga is a game of physical and mental skill. Built on the simple premise of stacking blocks, Jenga engages players of all ages, across all cultures. Jenga’s success rests on its solid play value. Players take turns to remove a block from a tower and balance it on top, creating a taller and increasingly unstable structure as the game progresses.

It was a great time either participating in the game or just watching the tension on the participant’s faces as they attempted to not make the Jenga stack fall down. You can find out more about Jenga from the official Jenga website.

23rd Street Distillery Tour

The historic Twenty Third Street distillery, built in 1914, has been resurrected with twenty-first century technology. Century old copper stills are reignited with a spirit of anarchic invention. It is one of the “must visit” places in Renmark!

We booked a tour of the distillery for our group. The 1st thing required was for us to leave our mobile phones, hand bangs, car keys and even “hearing aids” behind before participating in an extremely well presented tour of the distillery by their head wine maker. It was totally worth the cost as we learnt so much about the distilling process, but no photos can be shown here (as they would not allow it 😒).

After the tour we were provided with a lecture & tasting session about 3 of their favourite Gins (which was a bit underwhelming to be honest).

Summing Up…

• Accommodation at Riverbend Caravan Park (visit their website)
  • Cost per night – $43 (at 1 Sep 2023)
  • Stayed for – 5 nights
  • CP Location – Great spot on the Murray, a couple of kms out of town (location map)
  • Did we have a good site? Yes – right on the river
  • Facilities – Great camp kitchen, plenty of room for our large group
  • Amenities – Toilets were a bit dated but always clean
  • Our rating/score – 8/10
• Location:
  • Was it a nice place to visit? Yes
  • Much to see & do? Heaps to do. This was our 2nd visit to Renmark
  • Our rating/score – 8/10
  • Would we return? Yes

What we did on the way…

We made a couple of stops along the 227kms (route map) from Renmark to Leasingham. The 1st was to check out the amazing silo art in the town of Eudunda, then around the corner to grab a coffee in the Eudunda Bakery, with it’s quirky & very cheeky art.

Accommodation

The Clare Valley Caravan & Cabin Park is actually in the small town of Leasingham, about 15kms from the township of Clare. The current owners, Michael & Hayley, have only been in the park for about 18 months and have began a massive upgrade to the sites and facilities.

One of our Tagalong group was a bit skeptical about our choice of accommodation BUT was amazed how much the park had improved in the 12 months since they stayed here. There is a fair bit of work to do and the continuing support from the caravaning community will certainly help them get to their goals quicker 😊.

Some day tripping

Marindale Hall Historic Homestead

Martindale Hall was built in 1879 – 1880 for Edmund Bowman Jr. at a cost of £30,000. It has some 32 rooms and boasts a large cellar of some 7 rooms. Edmund surrounded the home with a polo ground, a racecourse, a boating lake, and a cricket pitch where the English 11 played at least once.

Martindale Hall remains as a testament to the successful establishment and ongoing management of the intergenerational pastoral empires created by the Bowman and Mortlock families. Find out more on their website.

Farrell Flats Silo Art

More silo art was found in the small town of Farrell Flats (23kms from Leasingham maplink).

Claymore’s Wine Tasting & Lunch

The Tagalong23 management team had pre-booked the Claymore Winery to a wine tasting facilitated by their GM, Carissa Major, and wine maker, Jonathan, followed by a light luncheon of local produce.

The session was fabulous with all of our group having a great time. The great thing about it’s location was that it was right behind our caravan park, so no driving required!

Summing Up…

• Accommodation at Clare Valley Caravan Park (visit their website)
  • Cost per night – $40 (at 4 Sep 2023)
  • Stayed for – 3 nights
  • CP Location – not bad, but a fair distance from attractions (location map)
  • Did we have a good site? Yes
  • Facilities – a bit scarce – minimal number of loos
  • Amenities – camp kitchen was tiny
  • Our rating/score – 6/10
• Location:
  • Was it a nice place to visit? Yes but you have to drive far and wide to take in the sites
  • Much to see & do? no
  • Our rating/score – 5/10 – the weather didn’t help either with rain & hail and freezing cold nights
  • Would we return? No – would stay in the township of Clare as it has far more to offer

About Melrose

Melrose, because it was officially proclaimed in 1853, can proudly claim that it is the ‘oldest town in the Flinders Ranges’. This quiet and attractive town, which is nestled below Mount Remarkable, has had a colourful history characterised by farming on very marginal land and mining poor deposits of copper. Today it has a number of interesting historic buildings and there are pleasant bush walking tracks in the surrounding countryside (sourced from the Aussie Towns website – click for more).

On the way

Wirrabara Silos

We stopped about 122kms north of the Clare Valley Caravan Park, on our way to Melrose, to check out the Wirrabara Silo Art in the small town of Wirrabara. Painted in April 2018 by Sam Bates, or as he is otherwise known ‘Smug’, the artwork depicts the rich history of the area which has strong ties to the forestry industry as well as referencing the beautiful local flora and fauna for which the area is also well known for.

Accommodation

Melrose was chosen for this part of our Tagalong as one of our group, Jenny, used to spend her childhood Christmas holidays here. We were booked into the one and only caravan park in town by the name of (you guessed it) Melrose Caravan Park, located in the centre of town.

The park had a good sized gathering area for our happy hours, with a roaring fire set up by the owners. Later at night we sat around the back of our vans, beside the Willochra Creek bed, with a fire going in the provided fire pits.

Alligator Gorge Walk

Alligator Gorge in Mount Remarkable National Park is one of South Australia’s most scenic hikes. With dramatic gorges, bright ochre walls and watercourses lined with river red gums, it truly is a remarkable place.

We took the short 200metre walk to the Ali Lookout from the Alligator Gorge car park.

We then we took the 3 km track called the Narrows Loop Hike. It was really challenging in some places having to “rock hop” through sections of the creek which runs through the gorge. It was absolutely worth every step taken through this magnificent place.

Booleroo Steam Society Visit

One of our Tagalong23 members has a relative who is a member of the Booleroo Steam & Traction Preservation Society and arranged a special tour for our group. It was a fascinating walk through this enormous collection of vintage & current types of machinery.

This is an extract from their website “The aim of the Booleroo Steam and Traction Preservation Society is: “To foster the restoration and preservation of antique steam engines, vehicles, farm tractors and implements which show the technical developments and skills of an era now past”. Whatever your interest in agricultural-based machines, many can be found at Booleroo Centre, 260 kms north of Adelaide.
The BSTPS was formed by a group of local farmers in 1968. Since then the society has acquired an enviable collection of tractors, steam exhibits, stationary engines and equipment associated with our rural industrial and agricultural heritage.”

The BSTPS is located at 54 Arthur St, Booleroo Centre and you need to contact them if you wish to arrange a visit. Contact details are on the BSTPS website.

Melrose War Memorial

It’s a short walk up the hill behind the caravan park to the Melrose War Memorial. From here you have a great view back over the town. There’s also a really strange and interesting bicycle art piece up there too.

Summing Up…

 

• Accommodation at Melrose Caravan Park (visit their website)
  • Cost per night – $47 (at 8 Sep 2023)
  • Stayed for – 3 nights
  • CP Location – Very close to centre of town (location map)
  • Did we have a good site? Yes
  • Facilities – great camp kitchen (no pool)
  • Amenities – Basic but very clean
  • Our rating/score – 6/10
• Location:
  • Was it a nice place to visit? Yes
  • Much to see & do? Yes
  • Our rating/score – 7/10
  • Would we return? Probably not – been there & seen/done that

About Whyalla

Whyalla is a steel city. With a population of more than 20,000 (although it rises and falls according to the economic viability of the city), Whyalla is South Australia’s fourth largest centre after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler. Larger than Ceduna or Port Lincoln it is one of the three major centres on the Eyre Peninsula. The city’s primary appeal lies in the fishing available in the Spencer Gulf; the enduring interest in the steel industry which is now over 100 years old; and the interesting museums and lookouts in the local area (sourced from the Aussie Towns website – click for more).

Accommodation

The Whyalla Foreshore Caravan Park is in an ideal setting, right on the beach looking eastward over the Spencer Gulf. We had stayed here in 2018 and loved it then. Apparently not a great spot when the easterly winds are up and about though. We had perfect weather for our stay here.

Nearly everyone had troubles getting their vans onto their sites as the road was narrow with vans parked on the opposite side of the road, with a fair bit of stress to begin our stay here.

Beautiful Sunrises & Sunsets

t was about 10 steps from the back of everyone’s caravan to be standing on the sand. You got treated with a glorious sunrise, if you got out of bed early enough and then just as stunning a sunset at the end of the day.

Circular Jetty

Opened in September 2020 the unique and amazing circular jetty, the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, provides visitors for a great walk.

You get to meet Cuttlefish Craig at the entrance to the jetty, which is a very colourful tiled sculpture tribute to the cuttlefish, who come in their tens of thousands to mate and reproduce in the waters around Whyalla.

There’s an interesting site as you stroll out to the jetty; a string of buoys runs out from the sea-wall with a Greater Crested Tern (seabird) taking up position on top of them. If a new bird flys in and no spots are available they simply knock the current resident off and take there place; it’s really a comical site.

Harbour Dolphins

A family of dolphins hang out at the boat harbour and they follow the fishing boats into shore. While it might not be the best known dolphin experience, the Whyalla dolphins are well worth a visit.

We were here in 2018 and they were doing the same thing as the recreational fishermen return to the boat ramp the dolphins trail behind in the hope of picking up some fish scraps.

Hummock Hill Lookout

The Hummock Lookout is a good starting point to help get your bearings and help with what to do in Whyalla. It’s a good hike up the hill to the top, or there is a road up for driving too. At the top there are various viewpoints, some overlooking the steelworks, others overlooking the Whyalla marina, beach and city. It’s easy to find, located on Queen Elizabeth Drive.

There is also a small sliver of history at this Whyalla tourist attraction too – a large gun that was used during WWII as protection for the shipyards and steelworks, both of which were instrumental in the Australian war efforts.

Wild Dog Hill in Whyalla Conservation Park

Wild Dog Hill is probably the best destination when visiting the Whyalla Conservation Park and is located about 20 kms to the north of Whyalla on the Port Augusta to Whyalla highway. The park shows the natural landscape of this area, which is very dry and dusty. It was still a really great place to visit, with the walk to the top of Wild Dog Hill totally worth the climb.

Summing Up…

 

• Accommodation at Discovery Parks – Whyalla Foreshore (visit their website)
  • Stayed for – 3 nights
  • Cost per night (at 11 Sep 2023) – $33
  • CP Location – Close to a lot of attractions (location map)
  • Did we have a good site? Yes – backed onto the beach
  • Facilities – didn’t use them
  • Amenities – Not too bad, just a bit of a walk
  • Our rating/score – 7/10
• Location:
  • Was it a nice place to visit? Yes
  • Much to see & do? Plenty
  • Our rating/score – 7/10
  • Would we return? Probably not as we’ve now been here twice

About Port Lincoln

On the way there – Silo Art

On the way from Whyalla we came across two wonderful examples of Silo Art.

Cowell Silo Art

Located at 33 North Terrace Cowell, the silos were painted Austin ‘! N I T S U A’ Moncrieff and were completed on the 18th of September 2019. ! N I T S U A was assisted by Micheal ‘Schmick’ Motteran-Smith who has also painted a stunning mural near the silo location too.

The star of the silos is local identity Lionel Deer and his camel Diamantina. Mr Deer is most known in the Cowell community for bringing his camels to the Cowell Christmas Pageant for over 30 years. Lionel stirs up a sense of nostalgia for many Cowell residents as he forms a rich part of Cowell’s history. He is also known as the kind of person who would give you the shirt off his back, if he ever wore one! Lionel represents much of what the fabric of Cowell is made of. He is a descendant of early settlers and from a large farming family. He spent many of his years working as a shearer, he is a three-time mail medalist and loves his football. A prankster at heart and a true larrikin. Mr Deer has and always will smile, wave and welcome anyone who passes him by.

Tumby Bay Silo Art

At the entrance to Tumby Bay on the corner of Lincoln Highway & Bratten Rd.

Depicted on these silos is an interpretation of two boys jumping off the Tumby Bay Jetty. The inspiration for the silos comes from the artist Martin Ron and his assistant Matt Gorrick, who spent some time in the area before painting the silos. Saying the initial idea came from seeing people dive off the jetty into the ocean, even joining in the sport himself.

Accommodation

When we booked into the Port Lincoln Tourist Park, we were extremely lucky to score the premium sites, called the “diamond”, which are all drive through as well as terraced, so all vans had a view over the water.

There’s a great lookout at the top end of the park which is fantastic for photos. We even managed to recreate our photo with friends Sharon & Neil, who we took when here in 2018 .

Opposite the amenities building was a cheeky Willi Wagtail who had built their nest on a fire hole reel stand, complete with 2 eggs.

As we had visited Port Lincoln in 2018 (check out our Half Lap blog), a lot of the touristy attractions had already been visited.

Whalers Way

Whalers Way is privately owned land on the tip of the Southern Eyre Peninsula about 35 kms south of Port Lincoln that offers some of the most spectacular, accessible and dramatic coastal views in the state. An explorer’s wonderland of cliffs, blowholes, crevasses, caves and golden beaches. A spot not to be missed! Unsealed roads that are subject to weather conditions suitable for 2WD & 4WD vehicles. Permits are $40 per car and can be purchased online or at the visitors centre.

Map of the Whalers Way…

This was a fantastic group tour as we “tagged along” in convoy around the southern most tip of the Eyre Peninsula. We found the “BBQ area” along the way, which was just a massive slab of concrete (no shade) and the ladies toilets were home to a massive swarm of bees. It was interesting trying to work out what the cone shaped poos were around the place until we worked it out – it’s emu poo!

The coastal views are simply stunning.

Fancy Dress Night

A new activity began at last years Tagalong22 with a “dress up” theme, so it was unanimously agreed to continue this new tradition this year.

This year was based on the celebration of the “100th anniversary of Disney“. The Tagalong participants were invited to come along as their favourite Disney characters and they definitely didn’t disappoint. It was a hoot!

This is the invite…

Everyone put a lot of effort into dressing up, with the whole group participating. The bar has set very high for the next Tagalong…

Getting some fresh seafood

You just have to purchase some fresh seafood while in Port Lincoln. We visited two outlets…

The Fresh Fish Place

The Fresh Fish Place is a wholesaler, eatery and cafe all rolled into one. We picked up some fresh Nannygai here which was cooked for dinner that night – soooo good 😋!

Located at 20 Proper Bay Rd, Port Lincoln, it’s easy to find and has a massive selection of seafood as well as condiments and souvenirs.

Myers Seafood

We called into Myers Seafood as we headed the way out of town, toward Coffin Bay. It was a bit tricky finding it at 56 Buberis Crt Port Lincoln as it was a dead end, and we were towing our caravan. We went a bit crazy here as the prices were really good, scoring some fresh fish, cold smoked tuna (cryovaced) and snap frozen green prawns.

Summing Up…

 

• Accommodation at Port Lincoln Tourist Park (visit their website)
  • Stayed for – 4 nights
  • Cost per night (at 14 Sep 2023) – $49.50
  • CP Location – Great location with good views (location map)
  • Did we have a good site? Yes – one of the best!
  • Facilities – Very good
  • Amenities – Fantastic new camp kitchen and events room
  • Our rating/score – 9.5/10
• Location:
  • Was it a nice place to visit? Yes
  • Much to see & do? Plenty
  • Our rating/score – 9/10
  • Would we return? Yes we would, even though this was our 2nd time here

Accommodation

Coffin Bay Caravan Park is located at 91 Esplanade Coffin Bay and in an ideal place to explore the area. We stayed here in 2018 and back then there were kangaroos everywhere, but this time the caravan park was overrun by emus.

Coastal Drive thru Coffin Bay NP

The Coffin Bay National Park (map) is huge and we just ventured to the southern section checking out Point Avoid, Golden Island lookout & Almonta Beach. The views over the ocean are absolutely stunning.

Oyster HQ Bar happy hour

Oyster HQ is just a short walk, over the road from the caravan park. We booked a table to sample their oysters. It was such an idealistic spot, sitting on a stool, cold beer and freshly shucked oysters which ever way you’d like. There’s a very extensive menu and the drinks are real cold. They even have Australia’s first Oyster vending machine 😲

Oyster Farm Boat Tour

We booked a boat tour of the Oyster Farms for the Tagalong group. It was really informative and our guide shared lots of information on how oysters are farmed in what is some of the best “oyster water” in Australia.

Minniribbie Pig Farm

It was a truly interesting experience when we visited Minniribbie Farm, located at 40 Snapper Hill Rd, Wangary. It’s basically a “free range” pig farm run by a truly interesting man and his wife along with the very eclectic Jindihn Antiques.

We had lunch there, fresh bacon & eggs, before taking a stroll around the property. The free range pigs being raised there are the famous Berkshire pig.

Tagalong23 Darts Competition

This was the 1st time the annual Tagalong Darts Comp was run, and may have been the last 😂. It was great fun, especially when the darts board was missed by an errant dart going through the lattice wall. The games manager, Phil, did yet another outstanding job organising the games.

Summing Up…

 

• Accommodation at Coffin Bay Caravan Park (visit their website)
  • Cost per night (at 18 Sep 2023) – $33
  • Stayed for – 3 nights
  • CP Location – great spot, 91 Esplanade Coffin Bay (location map)
  • Did we have a good site? Yes – site 75 on a corner
  • Facilities – smallish rotunda was main meeting place
  • Amenities – very good and well maintained
  • Our rating/score – 7/10
• Location:
  • Was it a nice place to visit? Yes
  • Much to see & do? Plenty
  • Our rating/score – 7/10
  • Would we return? Our 2nd visit here, so probably not, but totally recommend it.

About Elliston

Elliston is a delightful seaside town located on Waterloo Bay on the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula. Set between rolling and pleasant sheep, mixed farming and cereal-growing country and some of the most dramatic coastline on the peninsula, the town is known for its fishing, swimming and surfing. There are excellent walking trails along the rugged sandstone cliffs (sourced from the Aussie Towns website – click for more).

Getting there

On the way to Elliston we stopped off to check-out the historic Lake Hamilton Eating House, about 87kms north of Coffin Bay (maplink).

Built around 1857, the Eating House was used as a stopping place for coaches and travellers to rest on their way to the Far West Coast until the 1880s. The Port Lincoln Caledonian Society restored the property in 1972 to its original condition.

Accommodation

We had stayed at Waterloo Bay Tourist Park in Ellistion in 2018 and it was a “no brainer” to choose this park for our Tagalong23 group, as we had loved our stay here. The park is located centrally in town with walking access to a lot of things like the pub, shops and coastal walks.

Elliston Cliff Top Drive

This wonderful drive, to the north of Elliston includes amazing views of the stunning cliffs as well as the islands. The best part of the drive is taking in the sculptures, created by local artists, dotted along the cliffs.

We travelled in a clockwise direction taking in the many amazing sculptures. At the end we were treated with views over the coastal islands and watched the surfers catching great waves.

Elliston Jetty

The Elliston Jetty is heritage listed because of its steel pylons screwed directly into the sea floor using a horse drawn winch. It is 424 metres long and is great for a walk or fishing. Dusk is the time to catch Australian herring (tommy ruffs) with squid, garfish and trevally being caught, and the jetty is lit at night with solar powered lights.

We were a bit concerned about the conditions of these steel pylons, as a lot for rusting away.

The boys go fishing

David, Paul and myself headed off to Venus Bay (about 63kms from Ellistion) to hire a “tinnie” from the Venus Bay Beachfront Tourist Park and go for a fish in the beautiful harbour.

It was a brilliant day with a light wind rippling the water. The wind dropped off after an hour and the water was so crystal clear you could see the sea floor 6 meters below the boat. This allowed us to drop our lines down next to the sea grass so the local whiting may take the bait. It also allowed us to gently lift the bait off the bottom so the cheeky crabs couldn’t pinch our bait. We ended up with only a few legal sized whiting and a heap of Tommy Ruffs to take back to have for dinner that night. There’s nothing better than a feed of freshly caught fish 😋

Venus Bay is a really small town but has a great general store and pub, for lunch as well as the caravan park located on the edge of the harbour.

Summing Up…

• Accommodation at Waterloo Bay Tourist Park (visit their website)
  • Cost per night (at 21 Sep 2023) – $33.30
  • Stayed for – 3 nights
  • CP Location – great location in town, 10 Beach Tce Elliston (location map)
  • Did we have a good site? Not too bad. Plenty of room
  • Facilities – Pretty standard facilities. Good size camp kitchen.
  • Amenities – Good, nice and clean
  • Our rating/score – 8/10
• Location:
  • Was it a nice place to visit? Yes
  • Much to see & do? coastal drive is a “must do”
  • Our rating/score – 8/10
  • Would we return? This was our 2nd time here, so probably not

About Streaky Bay

On the way – checking out the Talia Sea Caves

As we left Ellistion, on the way to Streaky Bay we stopped off at a couple of notable interest points collectably known as the “Talia Sea Caves”.

The Woolshed

The Woolshed is a large cavern carved into the granite cliff by wave action. A walkway and wooden steps provide access onto the rocks to view the cave with its honeycombed ceiling, dark crevices and nearby blowholes

The Tub

The Tub is situated about 1km south of the Woolshed Cave, which is a large crater in the cliff with a tunnel connection to the sea. It is 10 to 30 metres deep and 50 metres across with a granite base. For the adventure-seeker, it is worth the climb down into the crater. Beyond The Tub is a dramatic cliff face that offers long views to the south along Talia Beach.

Accommodation

We had stayed at the Discovery Parks – Streaky Bay Foreshore caravan park in 2018 and it was an automatic selection for a large group like our Tagalong23 gang to stay at.

The caravan park is located right on the water with a short walk back into town (maplink) for shopping, restaurants etc. They also sell the best fish & chips from the office.

I didn’t have any photos from the caravan park so I “borrowed” some from the web…

The great white shark in the servo

The Shell garage in town has a fiberglass replica of a massive ‘Great White Shark’ which was caught on rod and reel in 1990. The massive shark replica is a world-record catch.

Cape Bauer Loop Coastal Drive

The Cape Bauer Loop drive is a 39 km coastal scenic drive from Streaky Bay, on the western side of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It is a good quality dirt road, very little traffic, lovely coastal scenery and easy access from Streaky Bay.

Cape Bauer is a limestone headland that marks the northernmost point of Corvisart Bay. The eastern side falls away to the sheltered waters of the Gibson Peninsula coastal wetlands, while beautiful beaches stretch southwards.

The drive is still classified as being part of the Great Australian Bight. Taking the drive out of Streaky Bay we visited several locations along the way including the blow hole and whistling rocks along with many scenic lookouts.

Point Labatt Seal Colony

The second coastal drive from Streaky Bay was to Point Labatt to check out the seal colony and view more of the striking coastline. (maplink)

We found lazy seals, just kickin’ back doing nothing, and energetic seals who were frolicking in the rock pools. It was a great trip.

Found in no other country in the world, the Australian sea-lion is one of Australia’s most endangered marine mammals and rarest seals. Point Labatt is the only place on the mainland where Australian seal pups can be seen learning to swim, play and rest on the beach. It is also one of the few places in and around Australia where they are protected from land predators and which provides a safe environment for the sea-lion pups to develop.

Lunch stop at Sceale Bay

After leaving Point Labatt we called into Sceale Bay township (maplink) for lunch in a small reserve next to the beach and it has the best looking toilet we have seen. From there the road is dirt, but pretty good.

Smooth Pool

Continuing our journey back towards Streaky Bay from Sceale Bay we stopped to check out a rocky beach called Smooth Pool (maplink). It doesn’t look exciting from a distance but all the pools in the rocks with different shapes & sizes was fascinating.

Murphy’s Haystacks

We also visited Murphy’s Haystacks in our 2018 and wanted to share the amazing beauty of this natural phenomenon. They are ancient wind-worn pink granite boulders that formed 1500 million years ago. They stand like a crooked set of giant’s molars on a hilltop just 2km off the Flinders Highway. (maplink)

Folklore has them named after a Scottish agricultural expert who spotted the crop of remarkable rocks from the local mail coach. The Scotsman obviously had a fertile imagination. “That man must harrow,” he commented to his fellow travellers. “Look at all the hay he has saved.”

The owner of the land was Denis Murphy, and faster than you could shout “mine’s a Guinness!” the Murphy’s Haystacks nickname had stuck. Of course they’ve nothing to do with haymaking and are in fact great examples of weathered granite inselberg formations (German for “island-mountain”). They’re part of a larger mass called the Hiltaba Granite, named for the Hiltaba Station in the southwest Gawler Ranges, under which much of the mass lies. Ayers Rock is an inselberg.

The granite was originally hidden deep in the Earth’s crust, probably some 7-10 km below the surface, but over eons the overlying rocks have worn to be transported and deposited on the surrounding continental shelf and inland basins.

Tagalongers have a Singalong

Our travelling musician, Paul, dragged out his guitar for the final Tagalong singalong and it was a real hoot, with singing dancing and may laughs. Thanks mate for being our resident muso!

…and so ends Tagalong23!

I hope everyone had a great time and are looking forward to return for Tagalog24!
Neil from the Touring Wombats

Summing Up…

• Accommodation at Discovery Parks – Streaky Bay Foreshore (visit their website)
  • Cost per night (at 24 Sep 2023) – $34.00
  • Stayed for – 4 nights
  • CP Location – close to town & on the beach (location map)
  • Did we have a good site? Yes – most sites are good
  • Facilities – Didn’t really use them
  • Amenities – Modern and cleaned regularly
  • Our rating/score – 8/10
• Location:
  • Was it a nice place to visit? Yes – our second visit
  • Much to see & do? plenty, especially the coastal drives
  • Our rating/score – 8/10
  • Would we return? may return again one day