Ebimisami: 03.04.2019
Wow, what a day. The bomb. Almost a bit too much for one day. Definitely the most exciting day on this trip. The adrenaline level has never been so high for such a long time. And probably with the most spectacular views of the rugged landscape at the southern tip of the Eyre Peninsula. That's how we like South Australia!
But now from the beginning. In the morning we start early but comfortably in Tumby Bay. A quick look at the beach and the flawless blue sky before we head to Port Lincoln. At the local Visitor Center, we are very thoroughly and friendly informed. Exemplary! There we also get the keys to Whalers Way. To enter this private "national park," you need written permission and the keys to access. We knew that Whalers Way simply means 14 km of gravel road, but not that it also applies to the last 13 km of the approach. According to the rental agreement, we are only allowed to drive a maximum of 12 km without asphalt! Hopefully Uncle Britz (landlord) won't find out! If he saw how bumpy it is here! Sometimes we are going at a walking speed. And then these soft sandy spots that force the vehicle to come to a standstill. After getting stuck a few times and having to reverse, we give up and decide to do the rest on foot. But more on that later.
Along the way, there are short detours to interesting places every few hundred meters. The lady at the Visitor Center has marked the most beautiful ones on the hand-drawn map, the others we leave out for now. At the first place, with a view of the picturesque sandy beach of Fishery Bay, we have breakfast. What a start!
But every upcoming place gets even better and culminates in the gigantic view from Cape Wiles. From there, you look down from cliffs over 100 meters high on bizarre rocks lying in the crystal clear water off the coast. We could sit here for hours, enjoy the view, and watch the seals at their antics! We feel like we have never been taken aback by a view before. Fantastic! However, the walks that constantly move along the edge of overhanging cliffs do not necessarily lower the adrenaline level built up while driving. My balls feel like they have shrunk to the size of raisins!
When we try our luck on foot in the last quarter of the way, we are picked up by the passing owner and his son. They simply load us onto the bed of their truck. We get shaken up and delighted with sand dust, but we also get to see the last interesting sights. And the best part: there is firsthand background information about each place. Among other things, how visitors at Cape Carnot were washed and engulfed by a "freak wave" from a rock pool or that satellites will soon be launched into orbit from here.
In the end, we end up at the campsite in close proximity to the spot where we gave up. There we are alone again. Just us, our campfire (the first in weeks), and a magnificent starry sky! That would be perfect if there weren't the worry about whether we will get out of here tomorrow with a intact vehicle 😳