Blow-outs, Beaches & Baileys

We were all a bit sad to be leaving our beautiful , private campground at Fishery Bay, but at the same time we were excited to be meeting up with Ang and Rob for New Year’s Eve celebrations.  We were on the road at 8am, destination Streaky Bay.

About 40 kms from Port Lincoln we passed through the small fishing town of Coffin Bay.

Situated on the western tip of the Southern Eyre Peninsula, Coffin Bay is surrounded by beaches and National Parks.  It is the perfect place to try out some local seafood, local catches including crayfish, abalone, octopus, scallops, crabs, whiting, garfish and of course the famous Coffin Bay oysters.

While none of us are really that into oysters, we thought this might be the place to try them out.  The 1802 Oyster Bar had been recommended by the locals and the menu was varied and very tempting.

Along with the standard chilled natural and Kilpatrick options, 1802 Oyster Bar serve some of the following variations -

Oysters Asian - natural oysters topped with a caramelised chilli +ginger sauce

Oysters Icey-Spicey - natural oysters topped with house made jalapeno sorbet

Oysters Japanese - natural oysters served with a soy + wasabi dressing topped with pickled ginger

Oysters Pinot Noir - natural oysters topped with an icey Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir sorbet with a hint of cinnamon

Oysters Russian - natural oysters topped with sour cream, caviar + a splash of vodka

Oysters Thai - natural oysters topped with a mirin, garlic, chilli + herb dressing

 Oysters Blue - oysters topped with a blue cheese dressing then grilled

Oysters Macadamia - oysters coated in macadamia crumbs then deep fried + served with a housemade dill aioli

Oysters Olive Salsa - oysters dusted in flour, deep fried then topped with an olive and thyme salsa + sour cream

Oysters Rockefeller - oysters topped with a spinach + hot pepper sauce mixture, sprinkled with  parmesan cheese then grilled  

Then there's the Oyster Shooters -  

Bloody Mary Shooter (tomato juice, vodka, Worcestershire + Tabasco sauce + black pepper)

Japanese Shooter (Mirin, Sake, soy sauce + wasabi)

Oyster Bellini (peach juice, lemon juice, white rum + a splash of sparkling wine)

Alas, a missed opportunity.  We passed through Coffin Bay just before 9am.  A little early for oysters in anyone's book.

We moved on. As we made our way north, the scenery became rugged and spectacular.  Our next stop was Cummings Monument, 60 kms south of Elliston, where we found uninterrupted views from Point Drummond in the south to the coastal cliffs of Sheringa in the north.

Here we experienced our first flat tyre in over 35 000 kms.

But what a beautiful place for a blow-out!

 

Somehow, while Bruce was changing the wheel, Fletcher managed to slam three of his fingers in the car door.  Ouch! 

The damage to the fingers was minimal, the tyre was terminal.  Once the first aid and the wheel changing was attended to, we walked out to the point.

 

Here we found a family of osprey, which nest on this craggy pinnacle adjacent to the lookout.

 



Here's a close up.

After a quick picnic lunch at the playground in Elliston, we took the Elliston Clifftop Drive where we were once again spoilt with rugged coastal scenery and breath taking views.

He just had to wee off the edge!

 

Problem was, about 10 seconds later there were three little Johnstons teetering at the edge of this 50 metre cliff trying to do the same!  Gross AND dangerous!

 







This 12km coastal scenic drive between Anxious Bay and Waterloo Bay includes stretches of rugged cliffs, islands and spectacular views of the Great Australian Bight.  There are many look-outs along the way including Salmon Point and Blackfellows, which allegedly has one of the best surfing waves in Australia.  Our favourite bit, however, was the Cliff-top Sculptures.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much information available about the history or purpose of these sculptures, but I believe that they are part of a local biennial event, where some sculptures remain on permanent exhibit.  Here are some of our favourites -

 The great Aussie Icon

The Surfer

King Neptune

The four windmills

The four scarecrows

 The four Egyptians

 

 The four Moons

(photo withheld due to possible incrimination)

 

We arrived at Streaky Bay by 3pm and headed straight to Crowders Tyre Service.  Bruce had barely reversed the caravan into the workshop before a whole crew of fellas got straight to work.  It was just like being in a pitstop at a Formula 1 race.  Both sides of the caravan were jacked up, wheels removed, two new tyres replaced on rims and wheels replaced, in a matter of minutes.  Perhaps they were in a hurry to get to their New Year' Eve celebrations?  No matter the reason, the service was brilliant!

 

The culprit (the tyre that is!)

The tyre was well worn on the inside edge, right where the sharp edge of a rock decided to penetrate.  Closer inspection revealed that both tyres also had significant chunks taken out of the inside wall (see photo). Scary stuff but it was all sorted out rather quickly.

We reunited with Ang & Rob who had arrived at Streaky Bay earlier in the day.  They had spent some time checking out the local campsites, so we followed them the 20 kms north of town to Perlubie Beach.

It was a great choice.  We drove right onto the beach and parked just metres from the gently lapping waves.  We unpacked and cooled off in the calm, shallow and surprisingly warm water.

 

Unfortunately, the wind was crazy, and we had to wait a while for it to ease off before we could truly relax with a cold drink and some twilight snacks.

 



Crackers, hot salami, cashews, double cream camembert & Christmas M&Ms.

We had plans to head back into Streaky Bay this evening for the New Year’s Eve carnival and fireworks, but soon enough we were all enjoying ourselves so much on the beach that we couldn’t drag ourselves away.

The boys soon made friends and disappeared up the beach with their new inflatable boat. 

We enjoyed the sight of locals launching and recovering their boats -
with tractors worthy of heritage listing.

 

And our New Year's Eve sunset was gold!

Just after dark some neighbouring campers set off a display of small fireworks just a short way up the beach, on the outgoing tide. 

We enjoyed the show while munching on our snags in buns.   It was a great effort and almost as soon as this intimate show was over the main Skyshow event  at Streaky Bay began.  We had a great view of the fireworks from our camp, made even more spectacular with their reflection on the clear, still water.   To our delight, the show continued for another forty five minutes.  Very impressive considering the whole fireworks display is funded by local donations and sponsorship. 

At 10.45pm the show finally ended.  To our delight, our neighbours recommenced their local show, which continued, I guess, until they ran out of shots.  We spent the last hour of 2015 enjoying Cheezels and Baileys under a splendid star studded sky.

At midnight the fireworks began again.  With the blowing of duck whistles and singing of Auld Lang Syne we said goodbye to 2015 and went to bed.