When I arrived here on Monday I must admit that doing a three hour drive through variable roads on private property was not uppermost on my to-do list. However thanks to a recommendation made yesterday, that was what I did this morning.
First stop was to work out how to get access to this place. The Information Centre had the necessary info. For a permit fee of $40, and the signing of a waiver, I was provided with a code for a lock box that was attached to a gate that had a padlock on it that allowed access to this place once that padlock was unlocked.
What was this place?
Apparently back in 1837, and only for 4 years, a whaling station operated near the property.
As can be seen by the sign above, the current owner's family bought the property back in 1887. In 1969 work began on developing the property as a flora and fauna reserve. The area is a declared Historic Reserve and park rangers patrol the area, though I barely saw anyone on the property this morning.
The roads were rough, at best, and in many places were barely passable. I was thankful that there had been no recent rains, meaning the roads were as good as they were ever going to be.
My CX-5 is AWD (all wheel drive) and this would have been the hardest that I had made it work. I think it came through unscathed (Don't worry Lesley).
There were regular opportunities for taking photos from the clifftops. Here is just a sample:
I didn't take note of the names of the various stops where I took these photos. When you pay over your money you also get a handy guide to the Reserve, including all the important names. Feel free to use some of these below against the photos above:
- Pioneer Lookout
- Ospreys Nest
- Blue Whale Bay
- Trig Point
- Flinders Crevasse and Cave
- Cape Carnot
The danger signs were everywhere. You were walking along slippery paths along cliff tops, with some leading down to beaches.
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| Danger. Do not go beyond this point. 4 people have been drowned in this area. BE WARNED |
They do like their signs, though I am not sure how seriously to take this one:
The trip to the rear of the property took around 2 1/2 hours. The trip back took a lot less, mainly because I wasn't taking pictures every 300 meters.
I kept a lookout for whales. I didn't see any. In fact there wasn't a lot of fauna on the property. Apart from a lot of "small birds" the only significant creatures I saw was an emu I startled on the road that promptly ran away, and two stumpy tail like lizards - one that also scuttled away and one that took its sweet time to leave the road. I had time to take a photo.
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| Exciting |
After this adventure I returned to the centre of town. I noticed a lot more activity than yesterday. This was probably the reason:
Walking around town after lunch I saw this:
I think the scariest part of this is that the shark, and all the smaller fish, have human teeth. It's unnerving.
After this I made a necessary stop to the local distillery:
They have a small still (I think. I couldn't see any others around).
The distillery had a vibe to it that made it feel as though I had been transported back to Brunswick or Fitzroy. The Spotify Playlist was indie/chill, the guy serving me was a bearded, ginger, bespectacled giant and they had quirky prints all over the walls. And this piano:
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| If You're Good, Go Ahead. If You Suck, Go Away. |
Again, it would have been rude not to sample their wares.
I enjoyed my stay in Port Lincoln. As with most of the new places I have been too, I didn't allow myself enough time to really get to know this place. Next time.
Back on the road again, driving north-west tomorrow.
PIE REVIEW
Maybe tomorrow?
Podcast of the day: The Count Down podcast - Red One Review
- I've been listening to Wayne and Paul for a number of years. Two guys, without much clue, providing movie reviews as well as countdown lists for various things, like Top 10 movie songs, or Top 10 Animated movies. Very funny, if you're in the headspace for it.
Total km traveled: 2,773
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