Mt Remarkable National Park, at the top of the Spencer Gulf, provided a convenient first stop after Adelaide. There were emus patrolling the campground, ensuring no food was left uneaten. We made the effort for an 18 km hike, and were rewarded with some spectacular countryside.
From there we drove to Alligator Gorge at the top end of the park, and did a quick hike through a local version of "the narrows". We passed through the regional centres quickly, and headed into the less populated areas. Our first morning on the peninsula was graced with a splendid sunrise.
We spent a day driving from town to town looking for a good prospect for work. To our amazement, TAFE is running classes in almost every town, and there is a computer supply and service company serving much of the remote heart of the peninsula. The initial assessment of the work prospects here is not promising, despite our ABS statistics.
With the weekend upon us and little opportunity to do any more research, we headed to Coffin Bay National Park. At first the weather was a bit overcast, but it did eventually clear up.
The only easy way to see the heart of the park is in a 4WD. The tracks vary from soft sand to rocks, making it a challenge to drive. We did our first "fully laden" beach driving, and we're getting much more familiar with what the cruiser can and can't do.
We did another recovery. An elderly chap with a 2 week old 4WD and no clue about sand driving managed to bury himself up to the axles. At least he gave us a slab of beer for our trouble.
We even had our first "local" fish, though not from our rod. We had the good fortune to camp next to a couple of generous and successful fishermen. First they enticed us with fillets of salmon, and then again with "fresh from the surf" sashimi. Thanks Pete and Chris!
The campgrounds were fabulous. We managed a good hike, an excellent bike ride, and even a short paddle. Coffin Bay really is a great National Park.
It was a great weekend, but it was time to get back work. We drove back up the peninsula via a different route, and our assessment of the work prospects didn't change. Streaky Bay seemed like the best prospect as a town to work in, so we stopped and began the usual marketing. Our expectations were not high, but having come here, we had to give it a go.
We set up at the caravan park. It's on the foreshore and is quite nice, but it's large, busy, and noisy. It also has a mice problem.
The work may not be inundating us, but once again we've had the great good fortune to be offered an unused farmhouse (thanks Jo and Tim!). In combination with the local library, this has given Helen the chance to write a few more "items". It has given us the chance to do a major rework of the business website, and a minor rework of this one. It even gave Helen a chance to perfect her ram tossing skills.
We did get a couple of computer jobs in the Streaky Bay area. We were even called on to kill a brown snake. (Should we add vermin removal to the services listed on the business site?) Unfortunately, this peninsula has not been a winner for us this time.
Just before we leave the coast for who knows how long....
There is a rockpool on the coast near here that is larger than an olympic swimming pool and the waves only spill in at high tide. A perfect place for a snorkel, and the first time our flippers have seen the light of day since we first packed the truck. The southern ocean is still cold even in the height of summer, but there were plenty of fish.
