Day 33 - Monday 30 January - Whyalla

DAY 33

MONDAY  - Shawn Redhage announced his retirement from the Wildcats L

30 January 2017 –  Cowell  - Whyalla

That was a long, sweaty night. Paul didn’t get much sleep at all while I got far less than I am use to. We got ourselves sorted with breakfast and then packed up our van and moved back in to town, where I could take some photos of the van. We opted to walk the mangrove boardwalk and then headed back up the main drag still admiring the old buildings then it was back in the car and on the road to Whyalla, 110km north.

The Lincoln highway was an easy drive, with little traffic. We passed a mine scarred lump on our way. This is iron ore country, hard as nails and red. We made our way to the foreshore caravan park and booked in for 2 nights, parked our van in a pull through bay and set ourselves up. With wifi (yippee) I was able to begin catching up on the past week’s pics n blog.

Paul sweated it out outside, it was still hot and humid. 33 degrees the van was saying, while the radio let us know Port Augusta was having 39 today! I went to have a well deserved shower, feeling sticky and grimy from last night’s heat. When I returned Paul told me he had dropped the bike off the trailer. Luckily there was no damage.

Once he had finished doing lots outside he went for a shower too and then returned for lunch.  We spent a fair bit of time just chilling before opting to do a walk of the park, checking out the foreshore. The tide was out, two men were stalking the waters for crabs. The tides go out a fair way here on the Eyre Peninsula.

We returned to the van, grabbed all of our gear and then took a drive into the centre of town. Many of the old buildings are art deco period pieces, most look to be a little worse for wear and so does the general population. I didn’t really see anything that struck me as out of this world and certainly nothing to make say I want to stay longer.

We had spotted a lookout on our way in so we made our way to it. Hummock Hill offers views of the boat harbour, Spencer Gulf, the steel mill and Southern Flinders Ranges From here the place looks hot, dusty and red. It reminded Paul of the Pilbara. Hummock Hill also features old gun emplacements. The lookout was opened by the Queen in 1986, gawd what must she have thought of the place!

We continued our drive through the streets, passing the schools now alive with children. It made us think of home and what our poor colleagues were up to, returning to work today. We followed the highway out to the Mount Laura Homestead, a national trust home built by BHP in 1914. We were going to have a look, but as we passed it didn’t appeal and seemed run down like the town. We weren’t willing to part with our $10.

The gps guided up back to our base where we cranked the air con and made ourselves comfortable for the afternoon. I was so glad to have net access again. I spent most of the afternoon happily uploading everything that had backed up over the past week. Meanwhile Paul continued reading his novel.

We stopped for dinner, more oysters that we had picked up Cowell, another place known for the delicacy. As usual they were delicious. We then put on the walking shoes and wandered along the foreshore pathway to the marina. The wind was blowing and the clouds were looking ominous. Seven ships were dotted on the horizon waiting their turn to come into the port to collect their iron ore.

One brave sole used the wind to his advantage out kite surfing, was really the only thing to be done. We wandered around the various jetties of the marina, spotting the famous Whyalla dolphins, well two any way. They didn’t hang around for long. Hopefully I will get a better glimpse tomorrow. We watched the sun descend, displaying a giant golden orb obscured by clouds at times. It was quite spectacular.

Feeling wind swept, we made the journey back to the park and the stillness of the van. After our poor nights sleep last night, we were happy to crawl in to bed early. I read The Four Legendary Kingdoms, finishing the final chapters and then we turned out the lights, listening to the wind as we drifted off.