WEDNESDAY 1st APRIL 2009 – STREAKY BAY S.A. – 23

I need to do another load of washing so while I’m doing this I hear Jan’s voice outside the laundry. She and Alan have driven up from Elliston (they needed to stay closer to Port Lincoln to wait for a part for their car). They wanted to check in with us before heading back to Baird Bay where they will spend the night ready for their day swimming with the seals and dolphins tomorrow. (I wish I was going with them as I could quite easily spend another day enjoying these sea animals)!!!

We drive into town to and hooray! Our mail has arrived. I don’t know why we got so excited as there were only bills – but bills have to be paid and it is a nice feeling to get them all out of the way at once.

There is a lovely café in town called the Mocean – which serves modern Australian food – the best restaurant in this area – so we sit on the balcony having lunch while going through our mail.

Jan and Alan have replenished their food supplies and will see us in a few days. We head back to camp where I can pay bills online, catch up with emails, update this blog and spend the afternoon, swimming, reading etc.. We will then start to pack up ready for our departure tomorrow.

TUESDAY 31st MARCH 2009 – STREAKY BAY S.A. – DAY 22

Sea Lions ready to play

We are really ready to leave here but as we are waiting for our mail we have to stay. Nick suggests we go to play a game of golf. I reluctantly agree (it is forecast to be in the high 30’s which is not really appealing ). We get our clubs organized, put Lucy on her lead (to our surprise they allow dogs to roam on the golf course unleashed) – not a practice Royal Sydney would adopt we are sure.

The Club House looks deserted but after some knocking on doors and windows we find some workmen in a shed just nearby. They instruct us to leave $10-00 each in an envelope provided and put it into an outside cupboard – which we do.

It is a bit hard to find the first Tee but after some difficulty we eventually find it. By this time Lucy has run marathons all over the place – having a wonderful time.

By the 4th hole I have had enough. The temperature is soaring, I am perspiring like you wouldn’t believe, and I am really not enjoying this at all. I decided to abandon this game and head back to the Club House and our air conditioned car. Nick perseveres on his own.

We head back to camp via the post office and again no luck. We would have to wait another day and hopefully our mail will be in. Back at camp and in the comfort of the air-conditioned van we spend another afternoon reading, swimming relaxing.

I don’t feel like cooking tonight so we walk across to the little Pelican Café for fish and chips. The fish is delicious and fresh.

MONDAY 30th MARCH 2009 – STREAKY BAY S.A. (BAIRD BAY) – DAY 21

Us swimming with the dolphins

We wake early, have breakfast, lock Lucy in the Van (air conditioning on of course) and drive the 50kms south the very remote village of Baird Bay.

After some confusion in directions we find the corrugated iron shed where the office is for the Baird Bay Ocean Eco Experience. We are greeted by a delightful young man by the name of Troy who is to be our guide for the day. Alan and Trish Payne moved here to Baird Bay 17 years ago to retire. Before they knew it they had a very lucrative and popular business in taking tourists out to swim with the seals and dolphins. They work closely with the Marine Mammal Centre in protecting these wonderful ocean creatures.

Firstly we meet our other travelling companions – 9 of us altogether, and then we are instructed to put on our wet suits. These are mainly to keep us afloat and to keep out the cold. We are then taken to our large aluminium vessel (exactly the one that is shown on television advertising Tourism South Australia).

Alan is the skipper, instructs us on some safety rules – not only for our sake but for the seals and dolphins as well and give us some vital information. And before long we are motoring out through the crystal clear water of the bay.

The rarest of the seal species in Australian waters and amongst the rarest in the world, the Australian Sea Lion is endemic only to Australia.

Australian Sea Lion population is estimated to be around 12000. This figure is derived from pup counts during a pupping season and only in accessible colonies, so the adult Sea Lion figure is not determined accurately and given numbers can only be a guide.

Troy spots a pod of dolphins and Alan instructs us to enter the water ‘as quickly as possible’!!!! I am a little apprehensive but do as we are told. The water is quite cool – 17 degrees approx. but I am so keen to see these sea animals I take no notice of the water temperature.

In my goggles I put my head under and ‘oh my god’ these 2 beautiful huge dolphins glide just under me. I am ecstatic. I am now surrounded by many dolphins as they glide so close past me. I am not sure where to look as they dart in and out from under my feet. Troy is having a wonderful time – they obviously know him as they are having a game with him. It is the most amazing site. For these huge creatures to have so much trust in us.

We spend about 10 minutes ‘playing with them’ and then we get back onto the boat and head across the bay to the Sea Lion Colony. There are quite a few older ones sunning themselves on the beach but all of a sudden we see the younger ones coming towards us. We are instructed again to go into the water ‘as quickly as possible’ again. It is like swimming with playful little Labrador pups. They love the games and the older ones are happy to come face to face with you as they are just as inquisitive of us as we are of them.

I love the advertisement where the lady pops her head out of the water and says to ‘Alan’ how long can we do this for! He replies until they get bored with it’. She says, how could anyone ever get bored with this and he replies, I wasn’t talking about the people.

This is so true. These little creatures were happy to have us play with them – It is wonderful to see that they are so trusting and it is hard to believe that dolphins and sea lions main predator is the human.

In some parts of the world, they are hunted for food and in some places are clubbed and shot for interfering in scale-fishing practices and, sadly, some are killed ‘for the fun of it’. Fishing and trawl nets are the biggest killers of dolphins with many hundreds falling victim each year.

If ever you are here in South Australia, and particularly the Eyre Peninsula, it is certainly a must and one of the highlights so far.

After checking with the Post Office (our mail had still not arrived) so we brought fresh hot pies for lunch and headed back to camp happy to spend the afternoon relaxing, reading and swimming.

SUNDAY 29th MARCH 2009 – STREAKY BAY S.A. – DAY 20

Dressed in our wet suits ready to go!

I decided to bake a chocolate cake today and will cook a roast lamb meal thisevening. Before we left home I brought a small portable oven which has proven to be a huge success. Who says you can’t have gourmet meals when camping!!!!

We can’t leave here until around Tuesday as we are swimming with the seals tomorrow and also awaiting mail to be sent from Sydney. Chelsea sent it Friday in express post and we were told it should take 1 day to get to Adelaide and then 3 days to get here to Streaky Bay. We are really ready to move on but can’t so we spend the day swimming and reading. It is terribly hot here 37.5 degrees, this is when we enjoy our air conditioner in the van.

Our roast is delicious – as we sit enjoying it, by candlelight as we listen to the waves lapping upon the sand in the bay. This really is not too hard to take!!!

SATURDAY 28th MARCH 2009 – STREAKY BAY S.A. – DAY 19

We spend the morning catching up on housekeeping ie., washing, cleaning the car and tidying up the camp area. It is quite dusty here which is normal and part of camping but we need to keep on top of it nevertheless.

Remembering it is Saturday and shops here, unlike in the east, close on the dot of 12 midday. I needed to get some supplies so I headed into town. Despite the inconvenience of shops closing early the up side is that you can drive and park right outside the supermarket, no crowds (or none to speak of) everyone is so helpful and friendly and makes this task quite easy.

I head back to camp with supplies and we decide as there is a another lovely drive along the Westall Way Loop which we have heard about from the Tourist Information Centre, we decide to do this during the afternoon.

First stop is The Granites a popular surf beach which has lagoon style rock pools. Then High Cliff which has an amazing view of the spectacular coastline. Yanerbie which is a great location for children to run up and down the sand dunes – (Nick and I are a bit past that activity) but fun for the young we are sure. Our last stop was ‘Smooth Pool” which are amazing rock pool formations.

We spent a while exploring them and while there ran into a couple from Terrigal NSW Peter and Trish also travelling around Australia (who were staying at our caravan park) and just this morning had been to swim with the dolphins and seals at Baird Bay - (exactly what we were to do on Monday).

They told us the experience was fantastic, couldn’t stop raving about it which made us more anxious.

We arranged to meet up when we got back to camp for a swim.

FRIDAY 27th MARCH 2009 – STREAKY BAY S.A. – DAY 18

Nick, Lucy and I at Hally's Beach

This morning we take Lucy again for another bike ride. We clock up 4kms. And she is really used to it and loves it. It is isolated here enough that she can also run leash free (which is not so easy in Sydney) so I’m sure she is loving this travelling thing. She also has Nick’s and my undivided attention most of the time so another added bonus for her.

We come back to camp and enjoy our lunch with the most magnificent view looking out over the bay. The caravan park here is very popular and quite full but it is not that noticeable.

I spend the afternoon doing some patchwork sewing while Nick reads one of the many books he has brought with him.

THURSDAY 26th MARCH 2009 – STREAKY BAY S.A. –DAY 17

View as we look out from our van across Streaky Bay

We make a booking to swim with the sea lions and dolphins on Monday and quite like this place so decide to extend our booking at this caravan park until Tuesday, to where we head from here I am not sure.

The weather is just glorious, warm and sunny so we persevere with putting Lucy into her ‘bike basket’ as we want to ride the bike track along the beachfront. I walk with her in my bike a few times around the caravan park and give her treats along the way. Before long she is enjoying being a passenger.

We spend the morning riding and in the afternoon take drive to some of the local sights.

The roads are all dirt which our trusty Pajero has no problem with.

We head out past the caravan park and drive for a few klms. Until we get to Hally’s Beach. The ocean is so blue and the sand so white. We always thought the beaches on the East Coast of Australia were the best we had ever seen but now seeing these beaches we are not so sure!!!

The walk to the edge of the cliffs are a bit treacherous but we let Lucy off her lead and she runs and plays with us. We hear the ‘Whistling Rocks (Blowhole) just below.

A short drive further on to Cape Bauer with its rugged coast and Olive Island is easily visible on the horizon.

We drive back to town past the mangroves, boat ramp and oyster farms finishing with a lovely view of the township arriving back to camp in town for our 5 o’clock glass of wine before dinner.