Adelaide City~ Day 4

Port Adelaide

We met Taiwanese couple Jim and Winnie at the caravan park in Adelaide. They are such an amazing couple, riding bicycle travelling from Brisbane to Adelaide for 5 months already. They are the first Asian people we saw travelling OZ on push bike. It was great meeting other travellers, sharing experiences and travel tips. So on our last day in adelaide, we invited them to join us to the Adelaide Port and Glenelg beach.

We had our breakfast at Ikea, heading to the bistro to get the 50cents hotdog (saturday special). Hehe. Harbour Town is very near to Ikea, so we went shopping after that. We really need to buy thicker clothes for autumn and winter, and Tasmania is really cold in those season. We have been sleeping in the tent for one month now, but still freezing cold at night even though it's summer!

There are many branded cheap stuff for grabs in Harbour Town, for us it is much more suitable to shop at than Rundle St. Angie found her winter suit at Espirit for $45 and Peter got his at JT Surf shop for $55. Oh great we'll be warm enough now :)

We headed to Port Adelaide*** with empty pockets. There is a Sunday market, which by the name of it only opens on Sunday (Peter can't seem to get the idea =P). So just a walk around the foreshore. 

 The replica ship of Endeavour at Port Adelaide. The original ship was used by Captain James Cook on his first voyage to Australia and New Zealand between year 1769 to 1771.

Next on the itinerary, Glenelg Beach****. This is by far the most touristy beach P&A had seen. Cause we are travelling from WA to SA. Winnie said, wait till you get to east coast. More tourists! It's a beautiful town, with cafes and shops catering for tourists. Can't resist a cuppa with cheesecake at Cibo again :) the sunset at the beach is beautiful, especially with the clouds.

Back at the caravan park, P&A made salami pizza with pita bread. It is so delicous! For dessert, caramel pudding from Jim&Winnie. Yums!

Our journey in OZ continues here :  Hahndoft German Village & Journey to GOR

Streaky Bay

Streaky Bay Jetty

Streaky Bay is a good base for exploring the coastline or the inland of national park (Flinders Ranges). It also has few supermarkets for stocking up before you go into the outback. We tried some fishing off this jetty too, but to no avail. A kind family gave us some crabs and tommy ruff herring they caught~ So good, now we don't have to worry about our dinner =P

There are few scenic drives recommended around this town which are really good. We started with the Cape Bauer Drive which takes about two hours.

Cape Bauer*****

The Westall Way Loop***** is the more interesting drive in our opinion. But if you have time, both is a must do. There are camping grounds in both drives, fee is applicable but works on the honesty system. So. . . up to you if you want to pay =)

 The Granites - The rock looks like some kind of animal

The Smooth Pool***** which is very good for swimming as it is protected by the reefs so that sharks could not swim in! It's also good for snorkelling, too bad we haven't bought the snorkelling equipments!

We chose to camp at Speed Point (cause its 'free'). No facilities there at all, just sandy grounds so we had to bring our own water. Some hike down the hills brings us to this beach. Not a single person here =)

Campfire at night, aahhh... so warm~~

 Point Labatt Sealion Colony*****

It's a long way in, about 12kms of dirt road. But still accessible by 2wd. This picture is actually taken from a hilltop view about 50m high. So it is quite far from the colony, best to bring a binocular to observe them.

Head of Bight, Penong, Cactus Beach

From About 12kms east of Nullabor rdhse is the Head of Bight*****. This park is famous for whale watching during May to September. But it is open during off peak season as well for a cheaper entrance fee of $5. Opening time is 9am till 4pm. It is a good walk around the park with two observation platform to see the whales . . . When they are here. . .  

The cliffs at Head of Bight

From Head of Bight, we stopped at Penong for some snacks then proceed to its world class surfing beach, Cactus Beach*****. Although it is well known, there are no signboards leading the way to it. Just make a turn into the primary school then continue south of Penong for 20 kms of dirt road. The road is very bumpy, but still accessible by 2wd. The journey into the beach is so nice, with Lake Mcdonnell (the pink salt lake) as an eye opener. Then the various bird species around some small lakes and lastly the big Blue Lake.

 First time seeing a Pink Lake~! It is so beautiful, its colour best seen on a hot sunny day!

Wikipedia: Pink Lake is a result of the green alga Dunaliella salina and the halobacterium Halobacteria cutirubrum. Once the lake water reaches a salinity level greater than that of sea water, the temperature is high enough and adequate light conditions are provided, the alga begins to accumulate the red pigment beta carotene. The pink halobacteria grow in the salt crust at the bottom of the lake and the colour of the lake is a result of the balance between D. salina and H. cutirubrum

                                 You can see the different colours of the lake on both sides =)

There is only bush camping facility in Point Sinclair beside Cactus Beach, privately owned, costs $10 per pax. With toilet, outdoor shower and dishwashing/ laundry basin. The beach itself is good for surfing, not that good for swimming cause it’s full of small rocks.

Sunset is simply beautiful here

360 ̊of starry night at the bush camp

There is a walking trail around the coast of the beach, up the cliffs then the gorge and back to the camp which takes us 3 hours return. We saw many wildlife along the walk, among them the rock crabs, pied cormorant birds, slow moving bobtail lizard, sooty oystercatcher bird. It was a good and tiring walk =)

Rock Crabs

Pied Cormorants hanging around the cliffs

The gorge of Point Sinclair

The nearby Le Hunte Jetty, good for swimming