Whyalla

On the 27th of December it was time to move on from our 10 nights camped at Lincoln NP, we had a great time around Port Lincoln including our day trip to Coffin Bay but it was time to get going again. As normal on moving day we were up early on moving day. We had no real destination in mind but figured we would move north up the eastern coast of the Eyre Peninsula & see what we could find. We hoped to get a fishing charter out of somewhere up the coast, but unfortunately they were booked out in every town or they just didn't get back to us. In the end we ended up at Whyalla. We had read about  a free camp not far out of town & so thought we would have a look.

What we found was a really lovely spot overlooking the green water of Fitzgerald Bay. We can't believe this is free. Right on the water but there are no facilities. It was a great spot & was pretty busy. It had no shelter from the wind & no shade though. 

The first afternoon we set up & went for a walk down to the water. It seems it is the place to catch blue swimmer crabs & most of the other campers walked in the shallow water all afternoon looking for them, with their rakes & floating buckets tied to their waists. 

Fitzgerald Bay above & below

The next day we headed back into Whyalla for a look around. It is set overlooking the greenest water we have ever seen. Although highly industrialised with steel mills & iron ore coming in by train & getting exported by ships out, it was actually a pretty nice town. They have done a good job of making it welcoming to tourists. 

Whyalla above & 2 photos below

There is a large shopping centre hidden out the back of town with Coles & Woolies & most bits & pieces, so we grabbed a bit of fresh food. We also went to the local caravan park to pay for a shower. After not having a decent one for a while, it was definitely nice. Of course this then meant we were clean enough to go the pub for lunch & took advantage of the Sunday $10 pizza special. Back to camp & it was starting to get a bit windy but not to bad. We spent the afternoon curiously watching the crabbing action again, although old mate that had his dog helping didn't seem to be getting to many. 

We decided that it was such a nice spot & free so we should stay for another quiet day. That's where we made our mistake. The wind picked up & blew a gale. We almost packed up at about 1pm & left but figured it would probably be just as bad anywhere close by & we didn't know if we would be able to get the tent down. So after not much sleep that night due to the lovely wind we packed up the next morning. We weren't sure exactly where we were going, but planned to try to out run the wind for a bit & maybe take a break from the beach & head back inland for a while for New Years.