Since my last post we have moved on from Whyalla to the small fishing village of Arno Bay. We only stayed there for a couple of days but found heaps of really interesting things to do. I think the permanent population is probably only several hundred but there are heaps of holiday lets there for the summer.
The jetty is just behind the caravan park and if you are a fisherman then it is just perfect. A further 400 metres down the road are the mangroves and they have an excellent boardwalk through them. When we were there the tide was coming in and there were lots of fishermen trying their luck. I think I know why I am not a fisherman. None of them appeared to be catching anything.
The walk around the boardwalk was pretty good but I must say there was a distinct absence of birdlife. Deb pointed out a grey coloured Ibis or similar and up on the top of the boardwalk there was another larger hooded bird flapping her wings but that was it. Maybe it was too cold for them as it was freezing. We did manage to see some small crabs scurrying back to their homes but not much else. The town itself has a huge grain silo that seems to dwarf the area. We have found that is the case at so many of the small towns in this area.
The next morning it was up bright and early, well early enough and off for a day exploring. Our first stop was at a lovely little beach called Red Banks. Beautiful white sand that squeaked under foot and some great weather beaten rocks. According to the info, the beach is designed as a geological monument to the Geological Society of Australia. Looks like just weather beaten to me. Some great rock formations though, with queen Debbie sitting on the throne in one of them.
Our history lesson comes from our next stop. This is a few kilometres out of Port Gibbon. Out in the middle of a paddock we have 4 igloo shaped structures. They were built during the 2nd world war to be used as Air Raid Shelters. There are 2 large ones and the 2 smaller ones that were designed to hold radio towers. They are currently being used by one of the local farmers as storage sheds. They are extremely robust, with concrete walls/ceiling about a foot thick with heavy steel re-enforcing in the concrete. I am at a bit of a loss to understand why they were built at this location. Port Gibbon has a tiny population, and I don't know who thought the Japanese would attack this area. Just one of the mysteries of life, I guess. I didn't think they had unions back then, because by the time the shelters were completed, the war was over.
Our next stop was to Point Gibbon. This is a really great beach area with huge sand dunes that are used for sand surfing. Sorry but no photos of us sand surfing. I would have just fallen over anyway and broken a leg or something. There was supposed to be a colony of sea lions on the point so we conducted a diligent search and finally located the king of the colony. All of the rest of the sea lions are obviously out fishing and this slightly overweight sea lion was basking in the sun. He had nestled himself down in a bed of seaweed and was not moving for anyone.
We continued on with our search and the next stop was at the Yedulknie Reservoir. It was in the tourist guide books as something to see, but they forgot to say, only go after weeks of heavy rain. The reservoir looked like it was nearly empty.
Undeterred we continued on to out next stop which was the small farming community of Cleve. This town has a population of just over 700 but it was a breath of fresh air. It was such a pretty little town, with all of the townspeople taking obvious pride in it. It was so strange to get out of the car at the bakery/café and to hear music playing in the shopping area of the town. The music is from the local radio station and it is played out through speakers that are spread around the town. It just gave you a really relaxed feel. Obviously head banging and screaming music would be banned.
The war memorial takes pride of place in the main street and it is kept in great order. We walked down to the centenary park and in the middle of the park there is an honour board. The town has awards for The Citizen of the Year and also the Young Citizen of the year. This is a great idea and it just shows how everyone has such pride in their little town. After a big day of touring it was time to head back to the park for a rest.
Our next stop that will be written about is Port Lincoln. We are staying there for a few days but just to keep you interested we stopped at the small fishing village of Tumby Bay en route. They have this fantastic piece of silo art. The art work was done by Argentinian Artist Martin Ron and it was fantastic. They have a spot that is the ideal viewing area to see the artwork, and he has managed to use all 6 silos for an action shot of kids jumping in the water. The brown colours at the bottom just seem to blend in with the ground. I have attached the 2 photos. One from front on which shows the gaps between the silos, and the other one showing all of the silos just blending in to make up one great painting. Pretty cool I think and showed great artistic ability in blending them in.
Well we are now at Port Lincoln and that will be the subject of the next blog.
Bye for now.
Barry and Deb.
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