After a truly lovely coffee, plus cake, at our favourite cafe in Moonta, we set forth south, in the hope that our long held negative view of the Yorke Peninsula would disappear as we looked at the area with fresh eyes. And to cut a long story short, we were suitably impressed Perhaps after all our travels we are less critical. And we are too, especially of South Australia.
The next stop was Minlaton, where we finally ate pasties that were packed full of ingredients, namely meat, potato, swede (I think), and onions, and herbs. Locally made too.
I must mention at this point about the dog friendliness on the peninsula. Not only did they allow dogs on the little train in Moonta, but people made a fuss of them at every opportunity. As Piper was very shy she was overwhelmed by all the attention, and tried to disappear under our table at the first opportunity. But we were impressed and certainly added to our positive feelings about the peninsula.
After travelling through seemingly endless fields of crops, which were fields of stubble at this time of year, we arrived at our destination. The camping ground at Corny Point, which is on the top of the foot, on the west coast, and in the Spencer Gulf. If you look at the map of the Yorke Peninsula there is a definite foot at the bottom of the peninsula, a knobbly foot, perhaps a bit arthritic.
We settled our van on our patch of dust, so dry in March, knowing that a fair amount of the dust would end up in the van. There were areas of green grass, but unfortunately when we arrived they were taken up with other caravaners.
After touring around the UK and Europe, where there is always a reasonable gap between campers, and often there is a hedge or a line of trees between sites, I cannot get used to the way camping grounds here have no space between campers. There is often only enough space to put an awning up between vans. They literally cram people in to the grounds.
The photographs below were taken after most of the people left, and we were left with a reasonable view.
Piper relaxing on her bed.
Our view to the left was very good, especially of the red sunsets.
There were two school groups there, and the students were very well behaved, thank goodness. The students were learning how to surf, so were out most days. I was impressed as each student had to be self sufficient, and provide their own food and cook it as well. No catering provided by staff at the schools. They took over the excellent camp kitchen.
An early view of the sunset with a windmill in front. It was a very rural location.
Our view of the facilities, which included a huge camp kitchen and ablution block. At the front, to the right, and not included in the photographs, were the camping sites of four men, one with a caravan that looked as if it was his home, one with a swag tent and a very active large dog, which Piper was terrified of, and two men in their tents. They spent their days fishing or surfing. Lots of interesting tales.
Corny Point once had a thriving community, with a church, a hall, a sports ground and a tavern. When I read the information boards there were descriptions of social events, namely dances, sports days and picnics, mostly held in the 1950s, which were no longer relevant these days.
However the tavern, with flexible hours, was still well patronised. There were three large dogs running around, just the sight of them sent Piper under the table. People were very friendly, and the food was prepared and cooked by one of the partners in the business. We both had fish dishes and they were delicious.
The sports ground! Now used only used for cricket, but there was a battered looking tennis court and an unused bowling green also. The soil was barren, and the bore water sprinklers encouraged a few weeds to grow. And talking about water. This was another area were the bore water was unpalatable, and not even the filter system in the caravan took the taste away. We bought expensive spring water from the office. We must remember to buy boxes of spring water before we leave home. A little bit of forward planning is definitely needed, I think.
Piper did not worry about the lack of grass, her focus was on the chase of the tennis ball.
A flock of sheep being herded past on the road.
To see the best of the Yorke Peninsula it is important to go off the bitumen roads, which run between the main towns. This is especially so down in the foot of the peninsula. The best views and experiences were had when taking the gravel roads, but we found talking to many people travelling in their expensive motor homes, or driving expensive cars, that they were not prepared to do this.
We travelled around the edge of most of the foot, although sadly Innes National Park was out as dogs were not permitted in most national parks. This was a shame as there are some spectacular beaches on the edge of the park as well as the historic village of Inneston, a centre for the mining of gypsum.
We once camped amongst the sand dunes at Browns Beach, home of enormous spiders. We had a choice of using a long drop toilet that either had flies or spiders. I don't think we will ever forget walking around at night to see the huge spiders sitting on tents. And not to forget being bitten by March flies every time we walked through the dunes to the beach. We also stayed in an old house in the middle of the Innes National Park, which Walter did not enjoy. Consequently he has not forgotten any of it, so was not disappointed in not being able to drive around the edge of the national park.
We made our own coffee, using our espresso machine, as we were not sure of what was on offer around the area. However, the fast food, service station, grocery shop down the road had a coffee machine. We bought a bottle of cheap local wine there, which I threw out, due to it tasting dreadful. If I am going to drink alcohol it needs to be good.
Our first stop was Corny Point lighthouse, which was not leaning to one side, as seen in the photograph below. My ability to photograph tall thin buildings certainly needs to improve.
The rugged coastline below the lighthouse.
The road around the western part of the foot does not follow the coastline as such, so it was a matter of driving into each of the beaches. After travelling from Corny Point lighthouse, and the accessible beaches there we drove out to the bitumen road, and from there drove into Swincer Rocks, Gleesons Landing, Daly Head, Ella Rock (Formby Bay), and Gym Beach. All the beaches are used by surfers and people fishing, although there are signs warning of currents and tows.
And not to forget the sharks!
The photograph below is off a safe surfing beach, used by the students from one of the schools on the day we visited there.
The other end of the same beach, where it was possible to see the rips. The rips show up as smooth water, without breakers, and often darker than the surrounding water.
We stopped at Gleesons Landing for lunch, which we ate in the car due to the high number of bush flies around. Such wimps! This is a bush camping area, one of the many available to camp in, through paying a small fee. There are restrictions on the number of campers and the wardens keep a close eye on who is there. Luckily the people in the van in front of us were off sightseeing. They might not have been happy with us invading their spot.
A perfectly white gravel road, lined by trees, plus a blue sky. Perfect.
Another beautiful beach.
The next day we drove along the top of the foot, which again required a trip into all the beaches. The beach below, 'The Pines' is a popular fishing spot, but at low tide it certainly is a long way out to the deep water.
Point Turton, once a small holiday village comprising of shacks, now boosting many large holiday houses.
And then we drove across the foot to the heel of the peninsula to the town of Edithburgh, the town where we stayed at in the late 1980s, in the middle of winter. But this time we had blue skies and sunshine and I must say the town looked quite different. Lunch in the car, no picnic seats here, but a lovely view of the jetty. A great area for scuba diving due to the colourful reefs, plus a few sharks too, I am sure of this.
After a walk we drove around the heel as far as Sturt Bay. We would have liked to travel further but time was running out and we needed to drive back up to Warooka and onto Corny Point.
The gravel road was very rough with lots of potholes and dips, but our Kia handled it beautifully. It was also very scenic and not to be missed, for sure.
The lighthouse at Troubridge Hill. This was also home to an Aquatic Reserve.
Another beautiful beach.
After another pleasant evening at the campsite we drove back to Aldinga Beach. We stopped at Warooka, a pleasant little town, for coffee. A very welcoming bakery, for sure, and the bread, pies and cakes were made on the premises. But they looked a little strange, so we opted for a coffee only, which was very good. I think we missed our chance to try something a little different. But after my experience with the sustainable sausages in Maree, I am a little hesitant about trying anything new.
We have decided to never to stop at the food outlet shops in Port Wakefield again, lack lustre and full of travellers. Why we do this I do not know, as we have enough food and bread in the van to make a satisfying lunch, and Port Wakefield has a lovely park by the river.
We really enjoyed our trip to the Yorke Peninsula, and found that our old impressions were no longer correct. However we still do not fancy camping amongst the sand dunes, even in a caravan.
And we did not see any extra large spiders, thank goodness.
