We are in Port Lincoln now and it is a lovely city. We are staying at a small caravan park at North Shields, which is 8 k's out of town. At the caravan park they have a huge set of jaws, allegedly of a great white shark as their entry. Deb couldn't resist standing in the jaws, well maybe not all of her own free will, as it did make a good photo.
As is the norm for this area, the grain silo just dwarfs the town. It is one of the biggest of its type that I have ever seen. Whilst we were checking out the port area it was just non stop with B-Doubles and Triple trailer trucks pulling in to the area. You can see where they tip up their trailers and empty out all of their grain that somehow ends up in the silos and then eventually into the holds of the huge tankers that pull into the port. The Pier would have to be at least 750 metres long. Just a huge operation. While we were there, our friendly dolphin from Whyalla surfaced just to say hello to us. Pretty good of them to swim so far to greet us.
The shopping area is the biggest that we have seen for quite some time. That is good news as we will have to spend a few hours just strolling around on Thursday when the car is getting serviced. On the foreshore they have a statue of Makybe Diva, what a racehorse, who was owned by local residents Tony Santic and wife.
We went out to the local pub on Tuesday night for dinner and it was a really good feed. They have a top painting taking up most of one wall depicting a shearing shed. What a work of art.
Wednesday, and it was time for a bit of exploring. First stop for us was the Tod River Reservoir. It was with great trepidation that we went to look at that, as info guides are very deceiving. It was a drive of about 20 k's on dirt road and it was just average. At least I am able to inform you that the water from this reservoir goes all the way to Ceduna. I knew you would be hanging out to find that out. All up it was probably not worth the drive.
Our next stop was at the small country town of Cummins. The info on that place was pretty positive so we were hoping for a better outlook. We were not disappointed in Cummins. The war memorial on the way into town looked pretty good and was kept in great order.
Most of the main attractions in the town were in the same place. It is a small area called the Railway triangle and is just off the main street. It contains the public toilets but they have been adorned with artwork and mosaics to give the appearance of a railway station. It is very well done and out the front you have a life size mosaic of a woman named 'Dulcie' and her small child, along with items of luggage as they are waiting for the train to arrive. The entry to the ladies and the gents facilities also have mosaics on the walls that are extremely well done. As an added touch of reality they have a mosaic of a dog, relieving itself on the wall. A really well done area.
A further statue at the front of the park is of a farmer carrying a wheat bag on his shoulder. This is obviously how it was done in times past and you can only imagine how strong those men must have been. The wheat bags all weighed between 80 and 85 kgs and had to be stacked up to 22 bags high before being freighted to Port Lincoln. Pretty tough men back in those days. All in all it was a really good visit to Cummins and one we can recommend.
Next stop for us was the fishing village Coffin Bay. This place came highly recommended and would be awesome if you were into fishing and boating. The permanent population is just over 600 but if must swell to many thousands over the summer period. The majority of the housing is for holiday rental, with the remaining townspeople probably being fishermen. There is a large marina and they are right into Oyster farming. Not for me. The bay area is almost picture perfect and the water is crystal clear. There is a National Park attached to Coffin Bay but we chose not to go in there. They promise great hiking trails and sandy beaches but for $22.00 we think we saw enough just by driving around.
On the way out of Coffin Bay we stopped at a little inlet and got a snap of a lonely swan and a couple of little finches playing in the water. On the way back into town we stopped at Winters Hill Lookout. It is a few k's out of Port Lincoln and you get a great view of the town and surrounds. From up there you get a look at just how long the pier is coming out from the grain silo.
Come Thursday and we had to get the car serviced so it was time for a stroll around the town. While Deb was doing some shopping, I walked up to the War Memorial and got a couple of shots. It is really well set out, with a bugler standing next to a propeller and next to that is a piece of artillery. You can't see it in the photo but next to the gun is a ships anchor. Really well set out.
Whilst strolling by the primary school I couldn't resist taking a photo of a great mural they have on their wall. Had to make sure no kids were around as the Police Station is just across the road. Also over the road is the old Anglican Church building which is very well preserved. In front of the church is a large mosaic lounge settee with a coffee table in front of it, set up for a game of scrabble.
It is obviously in the middle of the grain season as there is a constant stream of B-double and triples driving through the town and heading to the grain silo's. The roundabouts here have been designed to be wider than normal, thus allowing these huge trucks to get through the town and to the port.
We strolled along the main street where there are a couple of artistically designed wooden benches to sit on. They were not chained down for obvious reasons. They must have weighed a ton. Next to the benches is a statue of Matthew Flinders, with his pesky cat, Trim. Flinders was responsible for the naming of Port Lincoln, just in front of that pesky Frenchman Explorer Captain Fleurieu who was also exploring the region for his beloved France but luckily he got here second again. .
We checked out the local pier and in the water you could see heaps of jellyfish type creatures. They were clearish/white colour with an orange looking centre. On the pier there is an area for the local children to swim. It is fenced in so that none of the nasties of the ocean can come and eat them. When we were almost off the pier I started talking to a man that was in the water below. He was using his metal detector in the water looking for cash. So far today he had found about $5.00. If he is that desperate I would give him $5.00. A very cute painting of some pelicans on the toilets, not up to the quality of the art at Cummins yesterday.
That is all for today and tomorrow is just going to be a lazy day, with getting some shopping and of course having coffee before heading off to the next port of call.
By for now.
Barry and Deb.
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