Monday 27 August 2012

Ceduna and beautifull Fowlers Bay


We left Arno Bay and headed to Ceduna. We decided to stay at the Shelly Beach Caravan Park which is 3klm’s out of Ceduna on the coast. It was a short walk over the sand dunes to the beach where Beemer had great fun running about. It is one of the many beaches they allow you to drive a car on. We found a great seafood retailer called Barney’s where we could buy salt and pepper squid ready to cook. At the caravan park there was an outdoor fireplace which we used every night to sit around and yarn with whoever joined us.


Next stop was Fowlers Bay. This is as far west as we planned to go this time before heading back towards home for Christmas. We booked for a week and decided to book for a second week. It is a beautiful bay and the whales are here for most of August/September. As it turned out Rod and Simone needed someone to help in the park and on the Whale Watching boat. They explained to us that they had advertised for an older couple with their own van to keep the park tidy and in exchange they would get a free site for the van. When we heard this we went ‘we are here’! We are having a great time fishing, going out on the boat when there is a seat free. The boat only takes up to six people for 2 hours watching the whales (mostly mothers with their calves) in the bay.
We have a fire every night, which Mark starts at about 4pm. We go out and get wood for the fire. Mark loves using the chainsaw. The countryside is beautiful. There are huge sand dunes right next to the town. Some of the town has already disappeared under the dunes over a long period of time. There used to be a police station, a pub and a post office. Now there is the kiosk, a hall and a small motel and a few houses. I don’t know how many people live here permanently, but I think it would be not many more than 20. There is no electricity or water. The water we use is pumped from the sand dunes by windmills. 

Fowlers Bay Main Street

Some fish Mark caught in the boat with Danny

Sea Lions sunning themselves


Mexican Hat

Beemer in the sand dunes with Fowlers Bay in the background



Looking west from the top of the sand dunes
Our power in the park is by generator. We have just had the old Lister generator, which blow up a couple of weeks ago, replaced by a new one. Mark and Rod have been working very hard to get a container ready by sound proofing it and putting in a false wall.
The container being delivered for the new generator

The new generator



The list of jobs is getting bigger by the day, so don’t know when we will be allowed to leave. We had a day in Ceduna and Mark joked about taking the van with us. Simone said the draw bar would be missing if we did that. It’s nice to know we are appreciated for our efforts to help them. Most people who book in for a couple of nights stay longer. We have just said goodbye to a couple from Adelaide who have been coming here for years and they were here for two months fishing.