Wed, 30th Mar, 2016 Fitzgerald Bay camping area, Eyre Peninsula, SA (exploring Whyalla)

7.30am sunrise over Fitzgerald Bay, Spencer Gulf and Southern Flinders Ranges. On Saturday night daylight saving finishes so will be back to 6.30am sunrises which I probably won’t get up for!! 19 degrees in the van with it all closed up. Obviously the tide came in during the night and filled up the low areas.

Headed off north running along the edge of the Gulf to check out the other camp areas.

Someone had told us of their favourite spot they called ‘Check Point Charlie’. The end of the road where the Army Training Area meets the water.

Leanne rang to tell us about the underground house at Cooper Pedy – amazing. Drove back to Douglas Point and up to the lookout for a cuppa. Looking over the Army area then around over the Gulf and then down to the south and back over the Army area again.

Zoomed in on Port Pirie on the other side of the Gulf.

High pressure gas pipeline is buried here and goes under the water.

Next to it is a concrete structure which we think is for power cables.

Back down the road to another camp area called Backy Point.

Oops someone didn’t make it.

Up the hill to look over Fitzgerald Bay – beautiful.

Our van is on the other edge of the bay.

Continued around the bay then back out to the turnoff. Heading south we passed Port Bonython which opened in 1984 and employs about 80 people. Its name comes from John Bonython who initiated the search for oil and gas in the Cooper Basin and founded Santos Ltd. Liquid hydrocarbons (oil, condensate and LPG, mixed at Moomba) from the Cooper/Eromanga Basins in the NE corner of SA and SW corner of Qld are pumped through a 659km underground pipeline to be processed here. The liquids are separated at the Fractionation Plant creating crude oil, napthas, propane and butane (LPG) and are held in storage tanks with capacities of 250,000 barrels, before being pumped along a 2.4km jetty to waiting tankers of up to 110,000 tonnes deadweight capacity.

Walked down to the beach area where a few holiday houses are.

Continued down the road to Point Lowly. Nice camp areas here for $6/night. This guy has the best one.

Right beside the protected boat ramp.

Found some of the Freycinet Trail info boards.

As I was reading the last one Skippy came bounding towards me.

Down to the Point Lowly Lighthouse with its little kerosene storeroom.

The two lighthouse keepers’ cottages are available to rent for $25/n/adult. They still use the ‘dunny down the back’. The cottages and the lighthouse are the oldest buildings in the Whyalla area.

More info on the Freycinet Trail – we have missed a few!!

Info about Port Bonython – I remember hearing about the oil spill on the news.

Continued down the track to the lighthouse – this shed is where the backup generator was kept when it converted to electricity.

You can see the different surface where the lighthouse was raised.

Anyone home?

Looking up then across the Spencer Gulf.

An unusual spider’s web.

Headed back up the road around False Bay to Whyalla. This area is breeding area for cuttlefish and has a salt works. The cuttlefish migrate to these waters each year to spawn during May and August. Interesting note – cuttlefish are colour blind. They have ‘W’-shaped pupils which are thought to allow them to see both behind and in front at the same time. They are not actually a fish. They are a cephalopod and their feet or tentacles actually connect to their head rather than their body. They have blue blood, three hearts, eight arms and two feeding tentacles. I remember a Trivia question ‘what animal has three hearts’ – now I know.

Heading into Whyalla where there were miles of train wagons.

Passed some of the OneSteel works then the sleeper plant.

Stopped at the Info Centre where the ‘Whyalla’ is on display. It was built in Wyalla.

A bit of history at the centre and more from the booklet. The northern Spencer Gulf was first navigated by Matthew Flinders in 1802, followed by Frenchman Louise-Claude de Freycinet in 1803. In 1840, explorer Edward John Eyre reported the presence of iron stone in the Middleback Ranges, 50km west of Whyalla. The first attempts to mine the area began in the 1890s. The city itself started as a tiny work camp on the shore at the foot of Hummock Hill in 1901. The camp was set up as a service base for the iron ore jetty constructed by Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (BHP). The settlement, then known as ‘Hummock Hill’, gradually expanded until 1914 when Whyalla was proclaimed a town. BHP Co Ltd extended its industrial activities in Whyalla by building shipyards and a blast furnace in 1940. The booming town was proclaimed a city in 1961. The steelworks started production in 1965. After construction of 66 ships, the Whyalla shipyards closed in 1978. On October 28, 2000, the steelworks became an independent company; OneSteel Whyalla Steelworks, in 2012 the company name was changed to Arrium Ltd.

We had missed the tour for today and they don’t go again til Friday. Drove up to the lookout on Hammock Hill. Good view over the steel works as we ate our lunch.

Looking across the bay to Port Bonython.

An old trailway sign about the big water tank. Water was scarce in 1939 they put in this tank. The town was divided into three areas and water was only turned on twice a week for each section and none on Sundays!!

Looks like they are working again after lunch.

Further up the hill to the old gun emplacements. Only one gun on display the other areas have been turned into picnic spots.

Great view also over the marina and foreshore area then around over the city.

Looking out into Spencer Gulf where the big ship waits for its cargo being dragged out on barges by the tugboats.

Iron Ore.

History of Whyalla and the turning on of the Morgan to Whyalla water pipeline from the River Murray.

Headed down the hill to the marina - nice cars.

Looking back up to the gun emplacements on Hammock Hill.

On the way to the Brake place we passed a very formal High School which has a fantastic view and the sports ground beside the water.

The chap at the Brake place will make up some brake lines for Steve so we have spares. Headed up the hill to check out the Flinders and Freycinet Lookout. The tugs are still going back and forward.

Outside the Vets was The Loaded Dog sculpture which was created by world-famous sculptor Andy Scott, entirely out of steel, using a unique construction technique of welding thousands of pieces of 10mm and 12mm rod together. Designed and constructed in Glasgow, it was unveiled to the public in 2008. The Loaded Dog was from Henry Lawson’s short story.

Drove around to visit Wendy Blue’s mum, Rhonda and check out all her dolls. Truly amazing collection. This is just a small bit of it.

I have never seen this type of doll before – it has three faces on the head so you can have a happy, sad and sleeping doll.

The Smurf collection.

She also had a collection of Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven and Famous Five books – my favourites when I was in primary school.

Headed back to camp. Stopped at the top to read the plaque about aquaculture but it was missing.

A few more campers have set up along the foreshore. The weather forecaster said it only got to 21 degrees today – I agree.