Day 17 29th April
Yorketown to Point Troubridge via Minlaton
Distance Traveled - 129.9 km
Woke early to a slightly drippy tent due to condensation but not too bad.
The outside was fairly heavily covered in moisture so I sat in my chair and
spent a beautiful few hours watching the sunrise and fill the sky with a nice
soft light. Eventually there was enough warmth to dry off the tent and then it
was time to pack away and head off. It was about 9 o'clock by the time I left.
Backtracked a bit into Yorketown proper and then went about 30 km to
Minlaton (stopping on occasions to take the odd photo or two) where one of the
main tourist information centres are so I could post my blog and try and get
more info on the lighthouses of the region. They were of some help supplying me
with a pamphlet about the lighthouses but could not tell me any specifics about
them other than what was in the pamphlet. Spent a bit of time walking around
the town looking through the occasional shop and generally just meandering
around.
Left Minlaton about 12ish and made my way back through Yorketown and back
toward Edithburgh and then along the coast to Troubridge Point. On the way
stopped to look at Wattle Point Wind Farm and some ruins of an old farm house.
Took a quick look at the lighthouse and then went to one of the nearby
rest stops and sat and read for a bit whilst I gave the solar panels a workout
charging the Engel Fridge Battpack. Even in semi-overcast conditions it
appeared to be working fine.
As the light began to fade I went back to the wind farm and farm ruins to
take a few photos and then back to the lighthouse for more photos. It is very
windy tonight, to the point that it blew out the gas burner about 4 times
whilst I was cooking in the most protected spot I could find. Have set the tent
up with the car as a shield as best I can so hopefully it wont be too blustery
tonight. It appears the light for the lighthouse is not a beam but more of LED lantern so no night photography tonight.
Will try for some sunrise photos in the morning.
Day 18 - 30th April
Troubridge Point Lighthouse to Cape Spencer Lighthouse
Distance Traveled - 106.5 km
Awoke a little later than usual lately to see the beginning of a wonderful
sunrise and managed a few snaps - still to be determined if they worked or not.
After enjoying the changing light I packed up and started the early drive to
Cape Spencer. Stopped for a quick looksee at a place called Marion Bay but
nothing of real interest to me there.
The drive was quite pleasant, with rabbits, emus and kangaroos all out and
about in the early morning light, mostly obeying road rules and looking both
ways for cars before crossing. There was also at least 5 or 6 different birds
to be seen as well. Arrived at the campsite just before 9 o'clock and went
straight to the lighthouse. It was still very pleasant light with a few clouds
hanging around from the rain here last night although it was totally dry
overnight where I was. Took a few snaps and headed to the campsite. Chatted to
an elderly couple, Phillipa and Alan, from Victoria for a while and then began
setting up. Got the solar panels out and connected it to the battery for the
Engel and set up the table and chair and sat down to enjoy reading my book in
the sun.
Had just started cooking lunch when another couple turned up. Who knew that
you had to book particular bays at the campsite with the Visitor Centre and
apparently I was in the one they had booked for their friends. 9 empty sites
when I arrived and I picked one out of the two that were booked. So began the
packing process to shift about 25 metres to another site so they could be close
to their friends (now they would only be 20 metres away).
After re-unpacking and setting up I spent the rest of the day either
reading, listening to music or walking through the bush - all very relaxing.
Eventually made tea and then after eating visited the lighthouse to see if
night shots were in order. However, the lighthouse light isn't really suitable
and the near full moon makes it difficult to catch the light in sky so back to
camp for computer work and then bed. Tomorrow I will travel to West Cape
Lighthouse which looks like only a short travelling distance.
Troubrigde Point Lighthouse at sunrise
Cape Spencer Lighthouse
Cape Spencer Lighthouse
Althorpe Island Lighthouse as seen from Cape Spencer Lighthouse
Day 19 - 1st May
Cape Spencer Lighthouse to West Cape Lighthouse and Return
Distance Traveled - 34 km
Woke up in time to do some sunrise photos at the lighthouse and returned to
a welcome cup of coffee and set about
drying off the tent from the overnight dew. Spent a pleasurable hour and a
half enjoying the morning light and reading. Spoke to Phillipa and Alan and
they suggested that the walk around an old town-site, Inneston, was well worth
doing. Walking from the campsite to the old town-site and back, including time
looking around the site, took just over an hour and a half. The town-site has
some restored buildings, some of which you can rent out (minimum 2 nights) and others
that are still ruins from when the Gypsum mine was there. For all you teachers
out there there was also a chalk factory here which supplied a lot of
schools Australia wide with chalk for a
long time.
Came back to camp, finished packing up ready to head off in search of West
Cape Lighthouse. Called in to a few spots on the way to see pieces of the
wrecked ship Ethel still very evident on the beach and a few other beaches and
campsites. Found the West Cape lighthouse, built out of stainless steel in 1980,
and took some photos in poor lighting conditions and headed back to the car.
None of the new campsites looked as appealing as the one I had left so I
decided to head back and camp there again.
Fire season finished yesterday so Alan had decided to have a small fire at
their campsite and use it to cook tea over and asked if I would like to join
them using the fire. I happily accepted and enjoyed a nice meal of chops and
potato whilst they ate their fish and vegetables. The rest of the evening was
spent chatting around the fire until the diminishing fire and cooling air forced
them into their van.
Road closures just past here mean it is a little bit of back tracking
tomorrow morning before heading to Corny Point for the next lighthouse.
Cape Spencer Lighthouse at sunrise
Chalk Factory Sign
Chalk Factory, Inneston
Wreckage from the 'Ethel' shipwreck
West Cape Lighthouse
Day 20 - 2nd May
Cape Spencer to Corny Point Lighthouse
Distance Traveled - 61.8 km
Woke up to a cloudy sky with little chance of good sunrise light so turned
over and managed to sleep until 7am. I had woken several times during the night
to the sounds of rain and reasonable winds and was surprised to find that the
tent was dry - guess the wind dried off the rain. There was also very little in
the way of condensation. Had a coffee and spent time reading and enjoying the
peaceful morning. Eventually got motivated to pack and left by about 9.30 am.
Drove over to Corny Point and arrived there by late morning. Even though I
had taken the signed scenic route there was not really much scenicness to it
until the last couple of km when you drove along the coast. The rest of it was
pretty much non-descript farm land and a bit of scrub.
Took a few photos in deteriorating light and spent the rest of the until
sunset listening to music, reading or walking around the lighthouse and
surrounding areas. Only did a little bit of walking as my knees are really sore
after climbing lots of steps yesterday - over 300 down and then up again in
total over 4 or 5 different locations.
Around sunset went and took a few more photos before cooking some tea and
waiting. The night sky is very clear and with a near full moon in a reasonable
position to maybe illuminate the lighthouse a bit I might be able to so some
night photography tonight.
Tomorrow I will travel to Wallaroo to try and see the lighthouse near
Warburton Point. It seems to be officially called Tipara Reef but there is some
confusion between what is on the map and articles / ads in the Yorke Peninsula
Tourist Brochure from the information centre so I will have to wait and see
what I discover, maybe there are 2. After Wallaroo it will be Port Pirie and
then into the Flinders Ranges.
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