I could be talking about the rare and exquisite pink diamonds which are mined in this Lake Argyle area but I found another jewel a bit more accessible and affordable for everyone!
We only moved 70 kilometres from our last stay but this destination was on our must do list and it was one that had a reputation for being a place to stay for a while.
Our next leg of the journey took us to Exmouth, where we started seeing huge termite mounds followed by sheep crossing the road about 30kms before town and then emus greeting us on the way in.
After Esperance we travelled around 60kms east to Paradise, or Lucky Bay as it’s more commonly known. Lucky Bay is in the Cape Le Grand National Park, you may have heard of it and seen pictures of kangaroos lounging on the pristine white sand of Lucky Bay. I thought you’d have to be lucky to see that but no, on our first venture down to the beach from the campground, there was a doe and her joey waiting for their photo shoot.
2016 has been a year of firsts as well as comforting routine. We have travelled to new destinations in Australia, seeing the most easterly point at Byron Bay, made some modifications and improvements to the Jayco caravan and had some relaxing holidays with friends old and new.
Each year our family looks forward to an annual holiday to one of our favourite beachside caravan parks on the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia.
Every year for probably ten years or more now we make the two and a half hour journey from home to this peaceful, heavenly destination and over the years its reputation has grown. From a couple of families with caravans it has turned into a family and friends get together every year with people travelling from as far afield as Darwin, Melbourne and Sydney. I can’t think of a better way to enjoy each other’s company than to spend a week or two or three or four camping and caravanning, eating and drinking, fishing and beach combing with the people you love!
I was looking through some old photo albums this week and came across the old west coast camping trip photos. Our very early days of camping / fishing trips saw us venture over 900kms from Adelaide, to the far west coast of South Australia to a place called Scott Bay. Here in a convoy of 3 or 4 cars and a trailer with dirt bikes we would head off into the sunset feeling like explorers. We would spend two weeks camping rough, way before ‘survivor’ was even thought of.
Our travelling music of choice when radio stations ran out was cassettes, usually Midnight Oil, Cold Chisel and The Barking Spiders Live. (Look that one up!) We would amuse ourselves over the long drive with silly conversations over CB radios and the odd game of trivial pursuit, again over the CB.
It’s almost that time of year again; cockle season begins at Goolwa Beach from the 1st of November. Cockles in South Australia (also known as pipis in the eastern states) are a popular bait for a huge variety of fish species. They can also be used in marinara so I’m told, but it’s hard for me to get my head around them being anything other than bait for something better!
Collecting them or “going cockling” is half the fun and a lot less expensive than buying them from bait shops. You will need a four wheel drive to get onto the beach at Goolwa with the entry onto the beach at the Goolwa Beach carpark. Here you will also see the regulations and size for keeping cockles.
