A large part of the attraction of this trip for me was the chance to visit Coffin Bay National Park which I had seen several times from aircraft between Adelaide and Perth. It looked to have spectacular scenery, particularly when the 'planes were approaching Adelaide.
Today was the day we would fit this in to our schedule. As it was a National Park the small dog would
not be welcome so we took her for a walk to Ricky Bates Reserve first. By being a little more adventurous we found
that the area at the end of the road I had assumed was private property not
only allowed public access, but also permitted dogs on leash. (The leash bit reflects a 1080 fox baiting
project.) We added several birds to the Dutton Bay list and found more orchids. At present I am unsure if they
are a different species or just
late-emerging specimens of Cyrtostylis robusta. We also saw another dolphin (actually it
could have been the same one, but you
know what I mean) out in the Bay.
On our way to Coffin Bay we found the Grass Trees again and
stopped for photos. Then on through the
town to the National Park. Getting our
Park permits was amusing as we wanted to pay with change and the envelope
wouldn't seal and the slot through which to post was too narrow for our pile of
metal, So someone will have to scrape it
all out of the container. Tough: if
they had someone on duty they wouldn't have had the problem.
In fact we didn't see any trace of a Ranger or other official
presence. Presumably they all lurk in
Port Lincoln where cafe lattes are easier to acquire.
We first stopped at the Templetonia Lookout to assess the
rather spiffy 360 degree views to Mount Dutton etc in the North
and the sandhills
behind Gunyah Beach, and the ocean, to the South,
We then headed for Avoid Bay
(and the
similarly named Point).
This was all
bitumen and certainly provided some excellent cliff views. There were many Rock Parrots around and an
Osprey was soaring along the clifftops at the Point.
I had thought we would walk a trail from the bitumen road to
Gunyah Baech but that turned out to be a 4x4 track so we drove along it until
it started to look very sandy and parked.
This had cut about 1.2km off the 8km walk. (In fact we could have gone for another 2km
before it got too sandy, but the walk was very pleasant).
We didn't find many new plants for the day but the flowering
of the Templetonia, Pomaderris (white bushes in the background, living up to its reputation as the coming woody
weed),
Leucopogon and mallee-form Eucalyptus was excellent. Pigface and other succulents were on the dunes. A Wedge-tailed Eagle flew over (surprisingly
the first for the trip) and various honeyeaters made a ruckus in the bush. A group of 3 Emus were booming near the
track.
In total we saw 18 species of bird in the Park, adding 3 to the trip list (which
now stands at 91sp.)
Getting close to the beach we found some large sandhills on
and in which the 4x4 fraternity had been having fun.
We walked up and along one of the big hills
and were intrigued to see how quickly (within 10 minutes) the wind was erasing
our footprints in some places. This is illustrated by the differing heights of the track markers:
- a third one
only had the red bit showing!
On leaving the Park we stopped to have another go at getting
our envelope through the slot and while I was losing that battle Frances
glanced out of the car and there was another large colony of gnat orchids. They are giving Pomaderris a run for its money
as next WW.
We then cruised the town looking for Oysters. The first two places we investigated only
sold closed ones and I didn't fancy opening them with a knife. A passing ETSA employee told me a simple way
to do it, if we had time:
1.
put them in a freezer overnight; then
2.
shift them to the fridge for about 2 hours; and
3.
they will open themselves.
I mention that for educational purposes only since we found
that the butchers shop would open them for us for a quite reasonable fee. So we did that. (As an aside, in a conversation in the shop
one participant mentioned that they had never used an ATM. I am astonished!)
Back to the Shack to find a very happy little dog.
Just after typing this I glanced out the window and saw a
Pacific Gull rise out of the water and dive back in, completely immersing
itself. It then flew to the beach with
prey in beak. The prey turned out to be
a fist-sized octopus which was gobbled before I could photograph the
event. A Pied Oystercatcher ran past
quickly, presumably to ensure it didn't beccome dessert.
Bird of the day:
Emus [Osprey was
a contender but Frances barely saw it.]
Flower of the day: Templetonia:
everywhere in the Park
Interesting sight of the day: The sandhills
What we learnt today: How
to open oysters (without opening an artery). [To believe at least some
"4WD drive only" signs was a runner up in this category.]
I looked upon the towering dunes,
And quietly blessed my luck;
I looked upon the carved up track,
And there I was not stuck.
