Cactus Beach, The Nullarbor and Esperance

We headed north, leaving SA's Eyre Peninsula, making our way towards the Nullarbor Plain. We had a very uneventful stop at Ceduna for a night, where we stocked up on toys from the Opp Shop for Pia (we knew we'd need as many distractions as possible to get us across the Nullarbor with an 18 month old toddler!).
After leaving Ceduna we made a relatively short journey west to Cactus Beach. Cactus is a remote beach on the edge of the Great Australian Bight with a very basic camping area with toilets and cold (salty) showers. Its claim to fame is that it has a few amazing surf breaks - it is seen as a bit of a surfing Mecca for ageing hippy surfers. Justin had a relatively brief surf there as she was spooked by the stories of the several shark attacks that had occurred in the area. We stayed there a couple of nights, but the dust and the strong winds eventually got the better of us. The kids enjoyed the Blue Lake, where they could run down huge sand dunes directly into the water. They also liked e quirky owner with his dog named Cherry (or Dodgy), who would visit each evening to collect the amp fees. It is a really beautiful spot, but probably best if you are a hard core surfer who is prepared to live pretty roughly.
Upon leaning Cactus, we all took a deep breath as we took on the long drive across the Nullarbor. The first day was a drive of about 9 hours (with stops), which took us to a hot dusty roadhouse camp ground at Madura. Thankfully there was a pool to help kill the last couple of hours of the day. Another day of driving followed, taking us to the best stop on the Nullarbor, Fraser Range Station (100km east of Norseman). We really enjoyed this sheep station, although it was o the Nullarbor, it was surrounde by spectacular scenery, with wildlife everywhere. We did a walk to the top of the mountain overlooking the homestead and saw many kangaroos and emus. A great camp kitchen, clean amenities, and lots of things to keep us occupied.
The final day of driving was only about 3 hours down to Esperance, but felt like it took forever ( we were all well and truly tired of being in the car). We're now really enjoying being back to civilization , and on a spectacular coast. So far we have done some swimming and fishing, and some maintenance jobs. As you'll see below, the girls were visited by a big seal while we were fishing tonight. After Isla fed him some of our bait, he decided he would chase everyone up the beach looking for more. He was eventually scared off by the very loud squeals, and headed back into the water. We also saw some dolphins, and the girls think they may also have seen a mermaid. Unfortunately no fish were caught. Water is quite warm and beaches are white and powdery.
A couple more days here before heading off to Cape Le Grand National Park. Stay tuned.

Photos below are: a roadside bakery where you put your money in the honesty box (north Eyre Peninsula), the sand dunes into the water at Cactus, our camp at Cactus, the long road ahead on the Nullarbor, a view from the road across to the Great Australian Bight, signpost at the SA/WA border, our car and camper being quarantine checked at the border, at Balladonia (with famous space junk from the70's space station in the background), Pia fascinated by the cat at Fraser Range, the hike up the mountain at Fraser Range sheep station, Isla talking to the seal on the beach at Esperance, the seal coming out of the water as it starts to chase the girls up the beach.

Coffin Bay and Elliston

We are spending more time on the Eyre Peninsula than expected. It's an interesting place that is really dry and rugged, but then has beautiful beaches, shady camp parks and amazing fishing. It has been very hot at times, but we have managed to survive by lying low during the day and being active either early morning or late in the afternoon. Unfortunately this has meant that the kids have been going to bed very late.

Coffin Bay is at the bottom of the Eyre Peninsula and is very picturesque and sheltered. Not a lot of oysters around this time of year however. We visited the National Park there and found an amazing untouched beach where we saw lots of dolphins, stingrays and big tuna all swimming in the waves. We also found a large dried out sea horse on the sand, but it was too smelly to bring with us in the camper. We made some friends at the camp park - hello to Rob and Orla! In travelling around the area, we found a very strange pig farm that also sold antiques and milk shakes. The girls thought the best bit about Coffin Bay was jumping off the jetty into the deep blue water, and diving down to see the crabs.

We have now travelled about 150km north to a tiny place called Elliston. As usual, we intended to spend a night or two here, but will stay four. We have bought ourselves a surf fishing rod and are catching salmon right off the beach (photo of Tilly holding a salmon below). There is a long jetty next to our camp park, and we have also caught some calamari but haven't quite worked out how to cook it. There has been a bit of a heat wave while we've been here, so we've been really happy to have a pool to jump into (rare in this part of the world). We are going to have a go at fishing for garfish this afternoon.
Off to Streaky Bay tomorrow, about 130km north, and then on to Ceduna.

Adelaide and the Eyre Peninsula

Unfortunately our laptop has died, which means that we don't have access to many photos taken over the last week. But don't worry, the blog is back on track thanks to our trusty iPad.

Over the last week or so we spent 4 days in Adelaide, and really enjoyed it. Highlights were the Central Market, the Haigh's Chocolate Factory tour, and the beach. We were fortunate enough to camp right on the beach at Brighton (about 15km south of Adelaide), so the kids had a great time snorkeling every day. We also paid a quick visit to Mclaren Vale and the Wirra Wirra winery.
As a stop between Adelaide and the Eyre Peninsula, we stopped at a little town at the southern end of the Flinders Ranges called Melrose. Just one night there, but found it really interesting. It's a very old mining town in quite a remote location that has reinvented itself as a hub for walking and mountain biking. Some really great old buildings and a nice quiet camp ground.

Arno Bay was our next stop, located on the north east side of the Eyre Peninsula. One of those places we hadn't heard of before but really enjoyed (booked one night and stayed three). Nice beach, heaps of fishing, and a really (kid) friendly camp ground. The girls were very excited about the big pancake breakfast every Sunday morning, the kayaks, and the sand sleds for use on the huge sand dunes.

We've now travelled down to Coffin Bay at the southern end of the Eyre Peninsula, just past Port Lincoln. We had heard it was beautiful, but it really exceeds all expectations. A really picturesque Bay with plenty of wildlife (many kangaroos and emus). A bonus is being able to drive along the beach away from civilization so you can have a whole beach to yourself. We'll stay here a couple more nights before heading up the west side of the Eyre Peninsula to Streaky Bay, about 250km from here. Back with plenty of photos in the next day or so.

Photos below are dune sledding in Arno Bay, and parking on our own private beach at Coffin Bay.

Technical problem

Hi Everyone

Unfortunately our laptop has died. We've devised a workaround using the iPad, so should be back with a new post (with photos) within the net day or so. We've got lots to tell you!

Cheers

The Mottrams

Robe and on to Murray Bridge

On the jumping pillow

 

Justin looking worse for wear in Robe

At the Giant Lobster in Kingston SE

 

Ready for a swim in the Murray

 

Robe is definitely  a great place, located on the eastern S.A coast. Unofrtunately it was very cold and windy, so weonly spent a couple of nights there. We did a little bit of swimming and plenty of walking. The kids enjoyed the camp park, which had the obligatory jumping pillow and an indoor pool! Justin caught some waves at Long Beach.
No pont hanging around a beach town in the cold, so we've now headed north west to Murray Bridge. We'll spend just one night here (that's all it needs) before moving on to Adelaide. We really enjoyed the drive through The Coorong which sits between Robe and Murray Bridge. Really interesting landscape and strong aboriginal history.

Into South Australia

Entering S.A under a grey sky

The Blue Lake

At the Blue Lake

The big girls swimming in the very salty Pool of Siloam

 Our last stop in Victoria was a night in Nelson,just near the S.A border. No pictures included here, because it's not a particularly interesting place (unless you are into fishing). From there we journeyed into South Australia, spending a few hours seeing the sites of Mount Gambier. While Mount Gambier was cold and wet, we were really pleased that we got to see the Blue Lake and the really deep (50m) sink hole in the middle of the city. We had been told that the Blue Lake was unbelievable blue, but were still amazed by the colour of it - bright blue despite the sky being overcast. This is its natural colour over summer, while the water is pure enough to be the town's water supply.
We then headed on to Robe, via Beachport. The girls swam at Beachport in the Pool of Siloam which is apparently 7 times saltier than the sea. Maia kept bobbing to the top.