Thursday 27 September – Our latest waking time for quite a while happened this morning.  It was 7.30 before we woke.  I suppose with only two other caravans in the park there wasn’t a lot of early morning noise, or we were just tired, or a combination of both.  But whichever way – it didn’t matter as we only had a relatively short travel day today, and we were here at Cowell Foreshore Caravan Park and had a cuppa made by 1 o’clock.

And I’m sorry to report on the demise of Zola.  She refused to start up today (the start button has been stuck in for the last couple of weeks, but today it wouldn’t register), so as she is still under warranty, she’ll be going back when we get home.  So from now on it’s back to my navigational skills.  Lucky we aren’t going through Adelaide city where I got us all boxed up back in April!!

From the other side of Ceduna yesterday almost until we got here today, we drove through crop country.  Huge paddocks planted with wheat and canola, and in every little township/settlement there were massive silos ready for the harvest.  It is beautiful countryside, relatively flat until we got within about thirty km from here when we scaled a mountain or two, but now by the shore it is flat again.

For the first 80 odd km today we followed the Eyre Highway before turning onto the Port Lincoln Road for about 55 km then finished up on the Birdseye Highway for the last leg.  Today there was a real dearth of wildlife, except for about a dozen or so kamikaze lizards.  Well they must be as why else would they sunbathe or try to cross a highway (I know…. The grass is always greener ….) which is frequented by road trains and numerous other vehicles.  Several of today’s sightings had been successful in their kamikaze pursuits and were therefore flattened on the bitumen, but some had at least avoided their fate at the time we passed by.  Grant did some pretty skilful manoeuvring when two were going across at the same time – single file, and about a car’s width between them.  We’re not sure if the road train driver following us was as skilful. (Although we did see one ahead of us earlier in the drive weave to avoid a lizard). They seem to be all of the shingleback variety, so don’t know how many brains they have.

Grant went up the street after we set up to get some bread and to see if he could get some shucked oysters, as Cowell is now THE place in Australia for oysters.  He could have bought them here at the caravan park for $8 a dozen, but they were unopened, and he didn’t fancy having to open them.  Anyway, he came home with bread as well as information as to where he could get the oysters (just about a couple of hundred metres from where we are) at a beachside outlet.  He also had discovered that there was a patchwork shop in town, which made my eyes light up!

After we had some lunch we both went up to the shops – Grant went to the hardware shop to buy a couple of screws, while I of course went to the above mentioned patchwork (and gift) shop.  It was a fabulous shop – very extensive stock of fabrics and some lovely, unusual gift lines.  I had a long browse, but didn’t buy any fabric as I had no project in mind, and the selection of a piece or two was just too hard.  On the way back we called around and Grant got his oysters which he enjoyed as a starter for tea.

Once back here we sat around having a cuppa and a read, during which time a bird shat on my head!  I know it is supposed to mean good luck, but it was also pretty yucky! Before tea I went across to the laundry to put a couple of magazines over there, and started talking to a lady doing her ironing (I haven’t ironed a thing since we left home!!) and as our conversation progressed she mentioned that her daughter lived in Balnarring –‘well, not exactly Balnarring but Bittern’.  I mentioned that I had ancestry in the Balnarring/Bittern area to which she replied: ‘They live in Davies Rd!’  When I told her that Davies was my maiden name and that Davies Rd was named after my great great grandparents and family who settled there in that road in the 1870’s, she was gob smacked.

It remained fine all day and warm, though it became a little cloudy (light cloud) during the afternoon.  Apparently it is supposed to not be so good tomorrow.  That would be right, wouldn’t it, when we have to go on a vehicular ferry for a two hour sail across Spencer Gulf.  So long as the sea-sickness doesn’t hit us we’ll be fine!

Didn’t take any photos today, so here’s Grant, just back from his shower.