Located on private property and accessed by a gold coin donation, along the Eyre Peninsula about 40kms from Streaky Bay are a group of ancient, seasoned, pink granite rocks said to be over 1500 million years old. Named after Denis Murphy who owned the property back in the early 20th century, the rock formations appear from a distance in the arid wheatbelt district to be haystacks, hence the name, “Murphy’s Haystacks.” Known as inselbergs, which means “island rock,” the hard granite edifices have remained, protruding out of the surface of the ground, as the surrounding softer material has eroded over time through weathering. Research fellow at the University of Adelaide, Professor Victor Gostin said the actual granite itself is very ancient believed to be over 3 billion years old, making the “haystacks” a significant tourist destination in the region and one that Murphy’s grandson and current owner Denis Cash has been happy to open to the public. Other inselbergs across Australia, include, Uluru in the Northern Territory and Wave Rock in Western Australia, both of which Shovel and I are yet to experience together. Shove and I had a fantastic time running around and between the rock formations, in awe of the magic of nature.
Point Sinclair & Cactus BeachAfter passing the Pink Lake we arrived at Cactus Beach, known throughout the surfing community for having one of the best 'left' and 'right' breaks in Australia. Point Sinclair was declared a National Surf Reserve (NSR) in 2013. Other areas we have visited that have been declared NSR are Lennox Head and Phillip Island. The area is intriguing, flanked by mountainous sand dunes to one side and vast salt plains to the other.
Fowlers BayFurther west past Penong is a turn off to Fowlers Bay, a genuinely sleepy fishing village, with nothing more than a few houses, a tiny caravan park and jetty. The population of this small habitation swells however during the months of May to October, when eager Whale watches descend upon the bay to marvel at what I can only imagine would be a specular sight. We lazed on the rippled snow-like sand before taking a walk along the jetty where local indigenous kids plunged without fear into the ocean depths below.
Ok, so here's the story.... Whilst toiling away at the Broken Hill Outback Resort, during the dust storm two couples of Grey Nomad caravans checked in for the night on their way from the Gold Coast heading West.... After listening to them vent their frustrations at the lack of dump point at the 'Resort' - agreed, extremely inconvenient and their apparent enormous fuel consumption driving through the dust storm they mentioned their destination was Streaky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula. 'You've not heard of Streaky Bay' one Grey Nomad squarks 'Everyone's heard of Streaky Bay' the other chimes in...
So here we are at Streaky Bay checking out what all the fuss was about and I have to say, 'not impressed' and very thankful we didn't park Florence here for the few weeks over Christmas and New Year... Kids and Grey Nomads everywhere! After lunch and a bit of a walk around we decided to head out to the Point Labatt Conversation Park... this on the other hand was well worth the trip and certainly demands hype, although I'm pretty sure this isn't what the Grey Nomads were talking about given they appear more interested in W(h)ine Time than actual travelling... The location is amazingly incredible in itself, stepping out of Cherry and looking around I said to Shovel, 'honestly I'm not even bothered if we don't see a sea lion, this landscape is breathtaking.' We were grateful to be the only visitors to the site and had the viewing platform and telescope all to ourselves. Initially, upon searching the coast line and rocks below we could only see about half a dozen or so lazing sea lions, but on closer inspection we started to notice, a dozen, then two dozen until we lost count. It was absolutely wonderful to witness these stunningly cute blubbery mammals gracefully glide through the shallows of the rock pools, navigate what appeared to be treacherous rock climbs with their flippers and laze sleepily on the sand or smooth rocks, occasionally rolling other to change sides. It was a pure delight to observe this magnificent, but threatened species in their natural habitat. Point Labatt is home to the largest breeding colony of Australian Sea Lion in the World. Unfortunately due to over zealous poaching by First Europeans, Sea Lions were hunted almost to extinction in the 1800's, and although they are protected now, their numbers have never fully recovered and are still listed as threatened. Female Sea Lions can grow up to 1.5 metres long, weighing up to 120 kilograms and spend most of their lives pregnant. The gestation period, unlike other mammals can be up to 18 months, at which point upon the birth of the next pup the previous pup is weened. Males can grow up to 2 metres long, weighing up to 400 kilograms and spend most of their time fighting with other males over the females. Due to this aggressive behaviour there is a high death rate among new born pups. Females are grey/cream in colour whilst males are dark brown. Sea Lions are opportunistic hunters, feeding off a variety of fish, squid, cuttlefish, lobster and penguins. The Wirangu Dreaming Story speaks of a Wombat (Wardu) and a Seal (Balgurda). Wombat is fascinated by the sea (Warna) but Seal warns Wombat about the dangers of entering the sea as Wombat is not a sea animal. Wombat ignores Seal and enters the sea anyhow, only to start drowning. Seal nudges Wombat out of the perilous sea and saves Wombat. Wombat thanks Seal and apologies for ignoring Seal's advice. In a show of gratitude and respect Wombat gives Seal his front legs for digging and Seal gives Wombat his flippers for swimming.
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The JourneyChoose Curiosity The Catalogue
November 2023
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