Melbourne and Beyond

Driving into Melbourne was a little like a "home coming" as we had both spent part of our lives here. We stayed at Craigeburn on the northern side of the city so we could be closer to meet and greet the newest member of the family, baby Siena, Amanda and Simon's second contribution to the every growing hoard of Grandchildren.

 

The most memorable part of our stay at the holiday park was the big storm that hit one afternoon during our three week stay. I sat on the bed hugging one terrified little pooch while the thunder, lightening and wind raged around us. 100 ml (4 inches on the old scale) of rain fell and huge hail stones in the space of one hour. Thanks to the deluge, we actually had river frontage as the water flooded the road in front of the van. There was no damage unlike other parts of town and the water eventually cleared away and we all dried out. While at Craigeburn we celebrated Christmas (a few weeks early - any excuse) with dear friends, Neville and Colleen who had returned from Vietnam for a holiday.

Beautiful Victoria

Ade took me on a tour of rural parts of the state I hadn't visited before and where he used to live at Rochford. We were going to visit Hanging Rock but due to the public coffers needing a substantial donation we decided to hold on to our money and invest in food instead. As it turned out this was a wise move; lunch at Woodend turned out to be another taste sensation. Not just the pies, (Queenscliff is still the best) but the local bakery happened to be the winner of the 'Best Vanilla Slice' Competition for 2010 - who would have thought! Let me tell you they deserve the title. Think we died and went to heaven!

One of the highlights of the day was to drive over Mt Macedon which was completely devastated in the 1984 Ash Wednesday fires and today has been replaced by the most magnificent gardens hiding equally magnificent mansions, many owned by the elite of Melbourne's society. The glimpses of stately homes behind walled fences was worth seeing but having been through those '84 fires myself you wouldn't catch me within cooee of that much undergrowth in Victoria's summer months. While we were on this side of the city, we also visited with fellow travellers Col and Kay, who we met in Derby, Western Australia, this time for a wonderful lunch at their lovely home at Heathcote in the country north of the city.
Our Christmas Celebration

From Craigeburn we moved to Emerald in the Dandenong Ranges to stay with our dear friends Marg and Trev over the Christmas and New Year season and count ourselves lucky to have such generous and hospitable people in our lives. We had the best time catching up with so many friends and being in a real home was the icing on the cake. Family from Brisbane, namely Sally and Beren and their little man, Xavier as well as Stacey joined us during our time here giving us even more reason to celebrate.

Westgage Bridge from Docklands

We had a wonderful meal and catch up with our friends Howard and Allison at their new Docklands unit.  The setting sun provided a stunning backdrop to views from the balcony across the Westgate Bridge and the city.  Another day we had an outing to Warburton where we took a long walk through the amazingly tall tree fern forest of the Yarra Ranges National Park.
Yarra Ranges National Park

It was time to move on from Melbourne and begin the journey east along the remainder of the Victorian coastline to New South Wales.




We had every intention of staying on Phillip Island for a few days but it wasn't meant to be - the island was totally booked out for the holiday season leaving us with another reason to come back!

The Great Ocean Road

Port Fairy

After leaving Mt Gambier we headed east into Victoria and somehow missed the border crossing sign, i.e., if there was one, and continued along the Great Ocean Road to Portland on the Discovery Coast. Portland is documented as Victoria's birthplace, the site of the first settlement in the state in 1834 by the Henty Brothers who arrived in the Ladybird from Tasmania. We had a quick look see around town and decided to travel further for the day and return another time.

Our destination was Port Fairy, a most delightful seaside village on the Moyne River with a sheltered harbour filled with fishing boats, wide tree lined streets, stately Norfolk pines along the highways and byways, and like most towns on the Shipwreck Coast has a history centered around whaling, fishing, and agriculture. The old world character of the town is enhanced by the imposing dark grey bluestone of the historic buildings which contrast with the timber cottages many perfectly preserved from the 19th century. We took a run along the coastal reserves east of town which are significant in their Aboriginal heritage and rich in native wildlife.
Warrnambool Maritime Museum
A twenty minute drive to the east took us to Warrnambool, the largest city in the region situated on beautiful Lady Bay and on the day we visited the weather was true to form of late, ordinary. The breakwater which interestingly was constructed way back in 1890 to protect the Port was awash with spectacular waves due to the high winds and rain squalls. Nearby is Logan Beach known as Victoria's Southern Right Whale Nursery where every year the whales return to calve between June and September. The heritage listed lighthouse located in the Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village has been keeping Lady Bay safe for over 150 years. We ventured into the hinterland between the two towns to check out the extinct volcano at Tower Hill where we had fantastic views along the coastline.

Bay of Islands

The morning we left we had a text from eldest daughter to say baby on its way and sure enough some 3 hours later Siena Rose arrived in this world - the whole 9lbs 2oz, phew, good job Mum. Number 6 grandchild and another little girl to love. Tempted to keep driving into Melbourne to check out her credentials but decided to hang out at Apollo Bay for a few days instead. The drive took us past the Bay of Islands, The Twelve Apostles Marine National Park (and now there are only eight, I think, as the force of the ocean swallowed them), Cape Otway and its famous lighthouse on the most southern point and a winding mountain road through the Great Otway National Park.

The Long and Windy Road

We stayed at Marengo a couple of kilometres west of town and 30 metres from thundering surf and it felt like the wind was blowing directly from the Antarctic with the chill factor when we arrived. Rough seas and huge waves pounding the rocky shoreline, nothing knew here but the sun was shining - yeah! It was time for us to simply stop for a few days, catch our breath and enjoy the warmest days we have experienced since Port Vincent in SA.

Marengo Coastline

The Marengo holiday park is also on the Great Ocean Walk and as I am up at daybreak with the four legged people we had long treks checking out the awesome early morning views of this rocky coast. The other half, alias snoring beauty missed out on this. Just as well I didn't see the sign "beware of snakes in this area" until the last day or I may have curbed my walks through the undergrowth to the beach.

We left Marengo early morning in a pea soup fog and it was the slowest 70 kilometre run on the whole trip travelling on one of the windiest section of road in the country. The day cleared to spectacular sunshine and around every corner we had amazing view of rugged cliffs, beautiful bays and the awesome southern ocean as we passed by the well known holiday destinations of Lorne and Aireys Inlet. The caravan park at Anglesea was the only one in the area to accept dogs so that became our base for few days and we enjoyed catching up with our friends Jeanette and Glynn from Torquay where the Great Ocean Road comes to an end.
Point Lonsdale Lighthouse
Torquay, and nearby Bells Beach the iconic surf beach home to the Rip Curl Pro surfing contest held over Easter every year, is also where the surf brands of Rip Curl, Quicksilver and Billabong are headquartered. The Bellarine Peninsula on Port Phillip Bay was close by for us to revisit the delightful seaside towns of Barwon Heads, Ocean Grove, Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale. The Point Lonsdale Lighthouse on the rocks at the western entrance to Port Phillip Bay overlooks "the Rip" where the water surges through and the bay fills and empties with the tides.

Food note to finish: Victoria's "Best Pie Award for 2010" at the Queenscliff Pie Shop. A clear winner in our 'delicious awards', and even though we have further to go it will take a a lot to better this one!

Limestone Coast

Ship Ahoy!



On our journey from Victor Harbor to Robe on the Limestone Coast we once again passed the Langhorne Creek area and then boarded the car ferry at Wellington to cross the Murray River, only a five minute journey. The Murray River actually flows into Lake Alexandrina at Wellington and then the road took us down the eastern side of the lake and along the coast line of the Coorong National Park. The national park is largely made up of a string of saltwater lagoons sheltered from the effects of the Southern Ocean by the sand dunes. Its an important waterbird habitat and hundreds of species of plants, birds and native wildlife inhabit this 140klm stretch of fragile ecosystem. There is also cultural and historical significance to the Ngarrindjeri people who have 6,000 years of history in the Coorong.

Lakeside Manor

Robe is a seaside town on Guichen Bay where we stayed for three nights. I was fascinated by the heritage listed Lakeside Manor, a grand 1880's sandstone mansion which is next to the Caravan Park and in fact the original stables have been converted to the office for the Park. The manor is currently used as youth hostel accommodation and inside there are 17 rooms, the largest 30' x 12'; a 40' long hallway; the grand library has bookshelves measuring 18' long by 12' high of blackwood and mahogany; ceilings are 12 to 15 feet high and it has 8 Italian marble fireplaces, etc. The large "for sale" sign out the front was tempting and there was a definite drool factor imagining the potential of renovating this grand old building and its gardens. Its probably a tad to big for us anyway!

Robe is a delightful town of heritage buildings, trendy pubs, restaurants, lovely beaches, known for its prized rock lobster and recreational fishing. On Lacepede Bay north of Robe is the town of Kingston where one store claims the title of Australia's best fish and chip shop and on two separate occasions no less (we had already eaten), and nearby Cape Jaffa which has a newly developed marina and housing estate and is home to a fleet of twenty cray boats. The Mt. Benson cellar doors are just down the road with a fine selection of cab savs and shiraz to sample from this newly established wine region.

We moved on to Mt Gambier driving through pine forest country, the town of Millicent and nearby Snuggery which is home to the Kimberley Clark Wood Pulp Mill, which manufactures much of Australia's household tissue paper. We stayed a couple of nights in Mt Gambier which allowed us time to have a couple of minor repairs completed on the van.

Wynns Cellar Door

A day trip took us on the Riddoch Highway to the town of Penola, the heart of the Coonawarra district, with more of those gorgeous heritage cottages and rose gardens and where they also make great meat pies (terrific pastry) and scrumptious ginger slice that complement the fantastic wines. Its always a great experience to drive through the vineyards and to arrive at the magnificent sandstone building of Wynns Estate was like the icing on cake. We have been so good protecting our temptation to sample! Guess what, we fell off the wagon!



Blue Lake

Mt Gambier is set amidst a unique and ancient landscape of volcanic craters, lakes, caves and sinkholes according to the tourist info. Blue Lake which is the city's water catchment holds 30,000 million litres and the colour changes from a steel grey in winter to a brilliant turquoise in summer. The lookouts gave us panoramic views over the city, lakes and hinterland.

A short drive to the coast and the historic Port MacDonnell and Cape Northumberland where the remains of South Australia's first mainland lighthouse is still visible.. Originally a trading port the lighthouse commenced operation in January 1859 and was of great importance to the ships navigating this treacherous coastline. It was abandoned and replaced in 1881 to the east when the pounding seas made inroads under the foundations and gale force winds caused tremors. Today rock lobster fishing fleets operate from here and it's popular for sport fishing with record size tuna fish being caught in these icy waters.

Cape Northumberland Western View

We were looking forward to the next stage of our journey the "Great Ocean Road" across the border in Victoria.

Fleurieu Peninsula

Granite Island

Only forty minutes from Adelaide and situated between the Mt Lofty Ranges and Gulf St. Vincent the picturesque McLaren Vale wine growing region was en route to Victor Harbor. The last time I travelled this area was 1985 and as I had talked Victor Harbor up to Ade, I was seriously hoping time had only increased the charm of this small town nestled in the wide arc of Encounter Bay. Causeway & Tram to Granite Island

Yes it has and as expected the town has grown but also retained that old world feel with its early colonial architecture and even a Clydesdale-drawn tram across the 600m causeway to Granite Island home to resident Little Penguins. The Caravan Park we stayed at was on Encounter Bay so named by Matthew Flinders of the Investigator after his encounter with French explorer Nicholas Baudin on board the Le Geographe in 1802. There were huge piles of seaweed washed up on the beach providing sniff delight for the woofs on our daily walks.

Cape Jervis

Our drive along the coast to Cape Jervis has to be the prettiest country we have seen on the whole trip. Cape Jervis is at the southern tip of the peninsula and the departure point for the passenger and car ferry service across Backstairs Passage to Kangaroo Island. Rural scenes of rolling hills, pine forests, vineyards, berry farms, fat Angus and Freesian cattle grazing on thick pastures (they probably never have to walk more than a metre in a day to feed), sheep, goats, alpacas as well, and superb views of the southern ocean and Gulf St. Vincent.

Australia's third largest island is best known for its spectacular wildlife and unspoilt natural habitat and has a growing reputation for producing fine wine and foods, including local marron (fresh water crayfish), cheese, honey, lamb, herbs, spices and sauces. Definitely a destination worthy of a few days to explore and devour gourmet delights - next time.

Kangaroo Island Ferry We headed back to Victor Harbor along the coast of the Gulf and stopped at Lady Bay to view the commemorative site of the ex-HMAS Hobart a guided missile destroyer which has been sunk 4 kilometres offshore and is now used as a dive wreck. We travelled up to Normanville, a seaside town known for beautiful white sandy beaches and inshore reefs and back across the country via Yankalilla - meaning place of falling bits! A farmer's town with tumbledown sheds, old stone farmhouses and stockyards located in the valley of the Bungala River. We never did find out the meaning of the falling bits!

We explored to the east of Victor Harbor travelling through Port Elliot to the town of Goolwa once a thriving river port and the last on the Murray River where paddle steamers and steam trains met to carry the inland produce. A bridge connects Goolwa to Hindmarsh Island and from Sugars Beach you can see where the mouth of the Mighty Murray empties into the Southern Ocean only impeded by a shifting mass of sand banks - very impressive. Ade reminded me of the infamous 'con' - secret women's business, aimed at halting housing and development on Hindmarsh Island . It was supposedly a sacred place to Aboriginal Women. From our observation the island is very barren with only a small number of new homes and more importantly a bird habitat and home to grazing black swans in winter and Cape Barren Geese in summer. I would guess it's a fisherman's paradise as well.

Murray River Mouth, Coorong National Park We travelled around Lake Alexandrina to Langhorne Creek, home to eight cellar doors and one of the oldest and fastest growing wine regions producing outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. The grape vines had the thickest gnarled trunks we have seen and the area also boasts olives groves, almond orchards and a horseradish farm within its food culture.

Kingsbrook Inn

Just down the road is Strathalbyn a small town with a history dating back to 1839 when it was settled by Scottish migrants. There is a strong Celtic influence in the old stone buildings with cast iron lacework, and the town is a well regarded centre for antiques with a dozen or so antique dealers and an annual antique fair. On our way back to Victor Harbour we passed the Kingsbrook Inn established in 1852, a little touch of Italy, quite a contrast and surrounded by vineyards. Are we really in Australia?

Another Vineyard

Next on the tour, the Limestone coast our last area to explore in South Australia before heading across the border to Victoria.

The Barossa, Adelaide and Surrounds

All Roads Lead to Wineries

It seems that all roads in South Australia lead to food and wine growing regions and none more noteworthy than that of the Barossa Valley. Our main reason to stay here was to touch base with a former co-worker of ours from Duracell days. Dean and his lovely lady Sabina who run a produce agency in nearby One Tree Hill, joined us for a meal and memory lane visit at our camp. The camp was on the edge of the local athletic field and we were entertained by the local junior cricket teams, pint size players taking their game very seriously and providing much entertainment.

Seppelts Family Mausoleum

The strong German influence here is easily confirmed by the number of Lutheran churches and like the vineyards and cellar doors, there seems to be one around every corner. The first grapes were planted in 1839 and some of the oldest producing Shiraz vines in the world are found in the Barossa which is the largest wine producing area in Australia. The major town of Gawler was in close proximity as well as the pretty villages of Lyndoch, Tanunda, Nuriootpa and Angaston nestled between the rolling hills and acres of vineyards. The old stone cottages, antique shops, art galleries, restaurants, etc all just add that special appeal to enjoy the experience of the Barossa. Again I have to mention the beautiful roses that were just everywhere - so numerous in number, colour and form. I had a strong urge to become "the phantom rose thief" - if only I had a pair of secateurs!

A highlight for me was visiting Maggie Beer's produce farm and sampling her specialised produce from the farm door! Yummy sauces, pate's, pastes, jams etc. - very hard not to purchase a few. Ade discovered the pheasants in the garden which were most interesting with wonderful colourful plumage but really I didn't want to think of them ending up in the pate' I enjoy so much. One could say this region is a gourmet's delight with the bakeries producing traditional German yeasted cakes and breads, butchers with smoked mettwurst and bratwurst sausages, locally produced cheeses and beer from the boutique breweries as well as farmers' markets showcasing local produce.

Fine Plumage at the Pheasant Farm

As we both had been to Adelaide before we didn't spend a lot of time in the city preferring to travel further afield and spend our time exploring the coast south of Adelaide. It seemed the whole of Adelaide had headed for the suburb of Glenelg on the picture perfect Saturday morning we visited. The kids were still in primary school last time I was in Glenelg, just west of the city, and as happens there has been a transformation from a small seaside suburb to a very trendy thriving cosmopolitan village with its high rise apartment buildings, shopping and cafe society and to top it off, the beach which hasn't changed!

View from Wittons Bluff

We drove south to Port Noarlunga an old port township on the Onkaparinga River. We had wonderful views from Wittons Bluff over the jetty and the heritage listed reef which is fully exposed at low tide and the protected marine reserve, a popular local diving spot. The reef was the cause of shipwrecks in the early days of coastal schooners.

Next stop Victor Harbor, new territory for Ade, and once again I haven't visited since my big kids were little tackers!

Yorke Peninsular

Wallaroo Sunset

One could be forgiven for thinking we had landed in Europe as the shape of the Yorke Peninsular looks like the boot of Italy. Yorkes as the locals affectionately call it is easy to criss cross and explore, only a two and a half hour drive from top to bottom and thirty minutes across. Matthew Flinders named the region in the early 19th century and before European settlement the traditional owners were the Narungga people. There are wonderful bays and beaches, jetties, historic buildings, charming stone cottages with the most stunning rose gardens, wildlife, rolling farmland, grain terminals, lighthouses and all that goes with it.

Restored Stone Cottage

We stayed at Wallaroo on the northern end of the Spencer Gulf for a couple of nights where we had front row seats from the van to view the stunning sunsets over the water. We had long walks on the wide sandy beach with the dogs. Brie was in her element playing chasey with the bird life and took off at the rate of knots to catch them until her extending leash pulled her up short! Darn - missed again! Bere is a good paddler and unlike his sister doesn't mind being wet though we need to pay attention to him as he has disappeared in pools on a couple of occasions - the trials for our blind boy. Wallaroo has a modern marina where the Spencer Gulf prawn fleet is based and local boaties moor their toys.

An Original Cottage

Copper was discovered in 1850 in nearby Kadina and when skilled Cornish miners worked the Wallaroo and Moonta mines it was referred to as "Australia's Little Cornwall" and the three towns are commonly known as the Copper Triangle. Even though the mines closed in 1923 the cultural mix from these settlers lives on with all things Cornish from the hogs pudding, ginger pop and more importantly the home made Cornish Pasties! Oh yeah, food again and I have never tasted a Pasty like it - delicious!

The Before

Our next move was to Port Vincent on the eastern side to catch up once again with our travelling friends from Brisbane, Syd and Lorelle for a few days. Another delightful historic little town, this time on the Gulf of St. Vincent and once again our camp site was right on the water. Syd couldn't wait to take Ade gardening and with rake and rubbish bin in hand the two of them set off. This was gardening with a twist!
...and after - yummy!

The boys were like two little kids let loose in a lolly shop. The first day they came back with eight Blue Swimmer Crabs which required a special rake to extricate them from their sandy hideaways in waist deep water. In their enthusiasm they broke the rake (Ade reckons it was a giant crab that got away). We cooked the crabs in the camp pot and thought we were the bee's knees devouring our fresh crab meal. Day two, with new rake in hand they set off again returning with 42 of these delectable little crabs this time. Hours later after the cooking process we sat back and engorged ourselves all over again, and still had plenty left!

By the time we said goodbye to our friends and moved south to Edithburgh the weather had deteriorated. Wind and rain prevailed and the temperatures dropped considerably. In actual fact we had a howling gale for two days and by now we should know what to expect when there is a wind farm nearby! No taking advantage of the tidal swimming pool at our front door with this lousy weather so instead we went exploring. On an historic note here, I read that the Yorke Peninsular is the resting place of 85 shipwrecks and Edithburgh the site of at least six of them.

The Lime Kiln from above
The rich limestone soils produce bumper crops of barley and wheat and Yorkes is known as the Barley Capital of Australia. It's said you can find a little part of Yorke in every glass of Aussie Beer. We think you could be in England with the countryside dotted with stone ruins and dry stone walls, wheat and barley fields waving in the breeze and narrow roads my imagination lends me to believe could be country lanes - but no horse or hay carts on the horizon!
.....and below
We probably drove through all the towns and along all the coast roads. There are views across the treacherous waters of Investigator Strait to Kangaroo Island from Stenhouse Bay. We were fascinated by the historic Lime Kiln ruin dug into the cliffs at Wool Bay where lime was collected and burned from the late 19th century until the 1950's. It was then shipped to Adelaide to be used in mortar for the building industry. The town of Minlaton has a memorial to daredevil pioneer aviator, Captain Harry Buttler who flew across the Gulf from Adelaide in a WWI Bristol monoplane known as the Red Devil to deliver the Royal Mail in 1919. Our last stop in Yorkes was at Tiddy Widdy Beach to see how "tiddy widdy" it was. We had a good laugh but there was nothing to get excited about!

The Red Devil

Tiddy Widdy Beach

Lots to take in and we continue to be amazed at our wonderful country. More to see and particularly in the infamous wine country of the Barossa, our next port of call.

Eyre Peninsular

Early Evening Streaky Bay

The Eyre Peninsular looks remarkably like the continent of India; lays claim to fame as the seafood capital of Australia (as the brochures tell us), with an abundance of cold water fish, oysters, abalone, scallops, mussels, prawns, blue swimmer crabs, and rock lobster, etc. What a great place to visit!

The Foreshore Tourist Park located on the shore of Streaky Bay and the Great Australian Bight was a good base for us to explore this northern part of the Peninsular. This charming village has beautiful old stone buildings from the pioneering days and its history dates back to 1802 when Matthew Flinders named the bay for the bands of colour in the water from the seaweed oils. By the 1880's the area became an important port for the shipment of wheat and wool which remains as the major industry today.

Mommas and Poppas of Point Labatt

We all know how Adrian loves driving on corrugated dirt roads, but as he wanted to see the Sea-lion colony 51 kilometres south it didn't seem to be such a major concern this time! Point Labatt Conservation Park is home to the only permanent breeding Sea-lion Colony in Australia. We watched these puppy dogs from the sea riding the ocean waves and the youngsters frolicking about in the rock pools from the cliff top lookout 50 metres above the sandy cove. Most of the big mommas and poppas were 'hanging around' sunbathing on the rocks no doubt after a few days of fishing! Point Labatt is also a resting place for New Zealand Fur Seals. The bird life we spotted amongst the Sea Lions were Pied Cormorants and Crested Terns.

Point Labatt

The Westall Way Loop Drive and the Cape Bauer Loop Drive close to Streaky Bay provided another contrast of spectacular scenery with granite cliffs, white sandy beaches, huge sand dunes, and blowholes. Here Southern Osprey, White Bellied Sea Eagles and Peregrine Falcons inhabit the area and it is also a breeding ground for these feathered creatures.

Oyster Beds Coffin Bay

Our next stop for a couple of nights was further south at Coffin Bay where some of the finest oysters in the world are harvested. The bays, inlets and waterways provide ideal conditions for fishing and water sports as well. This was a good base to enable us to travel to Port Lincoln on the eastern side of the southern Eyre Peninsular. I should mention that views from the Winter Hill Lookout of the rolling green hills down to the blue waters of the natural harbour of Boston Bay are quite spectacular. Port Lincoln first settled in 1839, is a thriving modern community with a population of 15,000 supported mainly by the aquaculture industry and in particular Blue Fin Tuna. Southern Rock Lobsters, Western King prawns, oysters and King George Whiting are also on the menu - hard to take! One of the tourist opportunities we saw advertised is swimming (in a cage) with 'the exciting predators of the sea', Great White Sharks - shark bait, no thanks, it didn't really appeal to my sense of adventure.

Port Lincoln

A little more my speed was the Alex Stenross Maritime Museum on the site of the boat building workshop on Boston Bay. Alex Stenross, the descendent of two generations of Finnish boat builders, was born in 1895 and first went to sea at the age of 12. He came to Australia from Finland in 1927 as a ship's carpenter and set up his business in 1928 repairing and building boats and continued until a few days before his death in 1980. The museum has his original boat building tools and maintains the slipway for todays small craft.

Alex Stenross Museum
After our stay at Coffin Bay, we headed north on the Lincoln Highway on the eastern side with Spencer Gulf separating us from the York Peninsular. Quick side trips into the small seaside villages of Tumby and Arno Bays, Port Neill and Cowell before stopping for a couple of nights on the Whyalla foreshore. I should say the 'windy' Whyalla foreshore - Ade had to hold the door open so I could get in and out of the van and the poor little woofs almost turned inside out! The only bonus was the spectacular views of wind surfers rising way up out of the water and travelling at incredible speed. Whyalla is another one of those rusty red towns thanks to the iron ore industry. The ore from Iron Knob in the Middleback Ranges is railed to the site at the Whyalla Port 54 kilometres west where it is transformed into 90 different grades of steel before shipment.

Whyalla Wind Surfer

As those of you who are regular readers will know, I'm over red dirt in a big way so I was very happy to move on to what I hoped would be greener and less windy pastures!

Rusty Red Whyalla