It was bound to happen; that the day would dawn fine with winds a fraction of what they have been over the past four or five days. Still, we had decided to move on, and move on we would.
We called down into the town and picked up a newspaper and a bag of fresh buns, but left the statue of Port Lincoln’s three time winner of the Melbourne Cup, Makybe Diva, the Old Mill and foreshore for the next influx of tourists.
We headed north along the same highway we had travelled back home on from the Tod Reservoir and Koppio two days ago, but this time were able to enjoy views back over the beautiful rolling Koppio hills glistening in the sunshine.
Forty six kilometres north of Port Lincoln, we pulled into Tumby Bay, the turn off marked by the tall gleaming grain silo towers of Viterra. The white sandy shore is lined with Norfolk Pines, the jetty is well maintained and popular with anglers. In fact this and the other seaside settlements we called into today are appeal most to anglers. We walked out to the end of the jetty, more exposed to the last of the blustery winds the further we walked. It was cold, although the sun shone all day, and the wind was manageable, not the problem it had proved to be when we drove south to Port Lincoln or would have been had we resumed our travel earlier.
Tumby Bay was settled early in the last century by those farming grain and sheep; the jetties the one link they had with the outside world. Along the foreshore are stories harking back to those early years; one about the harbour master’s pet sheep who used to lead the boarding sheep up on to the sea transport and another about how the road from Adelaide was too harsh on the cars of the day so instead they were transported by sea without their wheels, to be reassembled once they arrived at Tumby Bay.
Port Neil, a further thirty eight kilometres north east is a most unassuming settlement, again appealing to mostly anglers. However the publicity committee, if such one exists, have done their best to entice the passer-by; an avenue of wildflowers, yellow and orange, a fish sculpture out on the highway and a row of beautiful photographic posters displaying the very best and dramatic scenes the coast can offer.
Arno Bay’s name rang louder than the others, even disregarding the fact I had them all listed in my Eyre Peninsula guide book, and so I had high expectations. It too is a popular holiday spot for both anglers and their ever suffering partners. It is apparently renowned as South Australia’s kingfish and aquaculture capital, however I have heard otherwise. Port Lincoln is supposedly the seafood capital of Australia, so how could Arno Bay make such a claim? Interestingly the settlement was proclaimed as Bligh in 1883 but renamed Arno Bay in 1940. Rebranding of towns has normally been done much earlier; as a keen genealogist this must make for interesting birth certificates and other records.
We reached Cowell, population 880 and a further forty four kilometres on, soon after midday. We found our way through the very tidy and impressive main street down to the waterfront where we parked amongst the seagulls and had our lunch.
The main street is impressive because there are still a considerable number of well-maintained very old buildings. The township is situated in Franklin Harbour, named for the famed 19th century explorer and former Tasmanian Governor John Franklin, a forty eight square kilometre natural harbour with calm “fish filled” waters, bounded by a long low peninsula and an equally flat Entrance Island.
Cowell is just sixteen kilometres from Lucky Bay, the western terminal for the trans-Spencer Gulf ferry, which crosses from Wallaroo at the top of the York Peninsula to Lucky Bay. The trip takes about two hours and shaves just over four hundred kilometres off the journey, however some say that the best part of the journey is that between Whyalla to Port Augusta, and the ferry journey would exclude that. The cost of such a short cut would cost us $240, taking into account the two of us, the landcruiser and caravan. I shall compare the costs no more, because it is all academic; we will drive the long road route and complete our circles of exploration.
In the nearby Minbrie Ranges, a little inland of Cowell, lies one of the largest jade deposits in the world. Interestingly the deposit of nephrite jade was not discovered until 1965, and is recognised as the oldest and hardest in the world; only diamond saws will cut the stone. Previously the jade was sent to Adelaide for manufacturing into the jewellery and other bling available at the Cowell Jade Motel, but now, it is sent to China for the work before being returned here for sale. The cost of Adelaide’s craft became such that the commercial venture was unviable; a story we hear everywhere these days. I think we are all too greedy. And on that note, as an ace hypocrite, Chris had me select a pendant for my fast approaching birthday. How could I refuse?
Our plans as we left Port Lincoln had been very loose; I had done homework on camping grounds in Cowell and Whyalla, and could easily check out those in-between, however it was quite evident that Chris was keen to press on to Whyalla. I had no reason to suggest otherwise and he does the driving; so we came on through the last 106 kilometres.
About fifty kilometres from Whyalla we passed a large mine, a massive hill being carved into wedding cake shape, and crawling with machinery appearing like ants on the far horizon. This is the iron ore mine of Iron Duke, situated in the South Middleback Ranges. Our guide books explained that iron ore was previously mined out of Iron Knob, fifty two kilometres north east of Whyalla, adjacent to the Eyre Highway. Broken Hill Proprietary Company Ltd mined ore from this site from 1899. The ore was initially used at Port Pirie, across the Spencer Gulf up near Port Augusta, as a flux during the smelting of silver, lead and zinc ore.
At one time the Iron Knob and Iron Baron mining operations supplied the iron ore for all BHP blast furnaces, but since the Pilbara deposits in Western Australia, the local mines have concentrated on fulfilling Whyalla’s needs.
After nearly 100 years, mining at Iron Knob ended in 1998 when the last ore was taken from the Iron Monarch open cut pit. In 2012, the Iron Monarch pit was reopened and ore once again transported to Whyalla. Over the years other mines have been opened to meet demands; Iron Baron in 1933, Iron Prince and Iron Queen in the 1970s, and the most recent major development in 1990 with the opening of Iron Duke, seen here adjacent to the Lincoln Highway.
I should mention briefly here that Whyalla is best known as a steel manufacturing town, so the iron ore mining should have come as no surprise. I guess that comes of being female; steel milling is not top of my favourite things.
The southern approach to Whyalla is by a very long straight road, from which we turned to check out the Whyalla Caravan Park; we expected this to be far cheaper than its only competition. We pulled into the park, neither impressed or unimpressed, parked and went to the office. Another chap was waiting to see the manager; the door was locked but she “was coming over”. We waited with him while he told us his story; he is from Adelaide and works in the iron ore mine, twelve hour days, eight days on, eight off. His wife and child remain in Adelaide, a common unsatisfactory arrangement but a sacrifice young people often have to make to get ahead in life. Soon a boy came over, and said his mother would be over in two minutes. Chris decided we should give her an extra couple of minutes, although he is never so forgiving with his own time keeping. Still she did not come, so we returned to the rig and as we turned to leave, she came scurrying over toward the office. Sorry lady, too late. Although I did wonder whether we had cut off our noses to spite our face, something we tend to do in pursuit of principle.
We drove on to this Discovery Park, which I had checked out on line and knew would cost us $34 a day. Booking in, we decided to purchase a loyalty card, so saving ourselves 10% straight off, returning more than half the value of the card. The park is on the waterfront and is well managed. I have yet to form a further opinion however have no regrets. Tomorrow we will explore the area and get a better handle on how the land lies.
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