Port Lincoln

Makybe Diva stands pride of place on the Port Lincoln foreshore.

We stopped for fuel, water and supplies.

Cowell

Chris's mother and father are regulars at Cowell . They spend a month or so there every year. Chris's father, Rex and I went fishing. We caught a good feed of blue swimmer crabs, whiting and squid.

 I was impressed with our camp neighbour's setup.

The boat sits on his canopy ready to go and he uses the davit mounted to the F250 tray to lower it in the water.  No need to carry a boat trailer

 When money is no object.

This 5th wheeler is towed by a Isuzu truck and it has the lot.

Believe it or not one guy travels solo in this.

Sand dunes at Gibbon Point

Whyalla - Eyre Peninsula

HMAS Whyalla

Parked in the gardens next to the Visitors centre, HMAS Whyalla is an imposing sight.

It is the front of the Whyalla's Maritime Museum. We went on a tour of the ship.

Extract from http://www.navalofficer.com.au
Launched in 1941, with a ten-year planned life. Her proud builders would have thought it inconceivable that more than 60 years later their first ship would still be serving, albeit in a very different role. It would have been just as incredible to suggest that her final resting place would be a mere two kilometres down the road. In Whyalla.
HMAS Whyalla (1941-46), later became the Rip (1947-84) before reverting to Whyalla. The ship was hauled from the sea in February 1987 up the same slipway, now disused, that gave her birth and transported through the BHP plant, across a sea of saltbush and sand to rest on concrete foundations near the city’s northern highway entrance.
Since 1987 the Whyalla has been the focal point of the Whyalla Tourist Centre and Whyalla Maritime Museum. RADM David Holthouse, the Support Commander at that time, represented the RAN at the opening that followed an outlay of $1.3m. Although the ship was purchased for just $5,000, another $560,000 was required to remove her from the sea and set her up for display.



Minlaton - Yorke Peninsula

The magnificient clif top views from Ardrossan.

We visited Robert and Glenda on their sheep station outside Minlaton.

I have a fascination for old machinery and vehicles laying around rural properties.

Roberts collection over several acres did not disappoint.

Excuse my indulgence.

Roberts uncle, Captain Harry Butler flew this DeHavilland Gypsy III during the WW1.

Harry Butler is special to Minlaton. On August 6, 1919, only a few weeks after returning home from the war, Harry and his Red Devil made history.
From the “Harry Butler Story,” published by the then District Council of Minlaton: The Red Devil “was wheeled from its hangar to face 110 km/h gale”. In the frail little plane was “an 18 kg mailbag of postcards and letters for delivery in Minlaton. The first airmail flight to the peninsula and the first to be carried over water in this state.” Shipping in the gulf was alerted, and Harry wore an inflated inner tube around his neck as a life jacket. Flying between 4,500 and a mere 500 metres to counter the ferocious headwinds, Harry Butler approached Minlaton, where a crowd of 600 was watching in astonishment, “most of whom had never seen a plane in the air before. From 2,500m in the air he rolled the plane gently on its side, sideslipped a little then came down in a screaming nosedive”. He launched at 11.45 am, just in time for a widely advertised lunch at noon, which cost 2 shillings. The plane, fully restored takes pride and place in the centre of town.

We decided to do the abandoned copper mine tour outside Moonta.

We took a little train ride on the Moonta Mine rail. It travels around the old mine site and copper works.

Well worth the tour if your in the area.

 This is the area where the copper was extracted from the ore.
Note how the acid fumes dissolved the bricks over time.



McLaren Vale

Brian and Liz organised a camp site at a friends property in a vinyard at McLaren Vale.

It was a saving grace as we came off Kangaroo Island just before Easter and everything was booked out.

We had a lovely Easter, sampling the loacl wines and food.

The vines had a selection of grape varietys for the tasting.

Chris and I went on a drive and wine tasting around a few of the many local wineries.

  

A beautiful day to dust off that classic car and go to lunch.

Lunch at Leconfield

One of Adelaides spectacular beaches

Kangaroo Island

Departing for Kangaroo Island

Cape Willoughby Lighthouse

Circa1852

 Old GM truck.

Chris playing mother.

 Sampling the large variety of lavender it the lanendar farm.

 We visited the Marron Farm and viewed the growing tanks.

The lunch looked soo good we couldn't resist.

They also produce wine.

We drove down to the seal colony in Flinders Chase NP

 The top of the cliffs had a beautiful garden of coastal flora.

 The seals stole the show though. They were noisy, smelly and were constantly fighting.

The bottom of the labyrinth of stairs opened to a huge arch where another colony of seals dwelled.

The surreal rock formations of Mount Remarkable were outstanding.

Fortunately the grey skies cleared for a short time to let me take some good shots.



And, of course there's the picturesque torquise sea and beautiful beaches.

Russell, a friend of Chris, came to visit us at our camp site.
We all drooled over his pristine '62 Thunderbird.