TripRoundUnder

Moving on from windy Port Lincoln, we drove in search of warmer and better weather in the lovely town of Coffin Bay, a 45 minute drive up the road.

We had booked a campsite in the Coffin Bay National Park called Black Springs and we were in for a challenge, as it was 15km of 4×4 access only road and the first time we had properly tested the Troopy! After dropping our tyre pressure, we set off along the sand road and immediately knew that this was going to be a challenge… An approaching hill was a little scary and required a stop (also scary in sand) and assessment. We managed to line up properly and easily made our way to the top. Not that we had had any doubts… The rest of the drive went pretty smoothly besides completely snapping off the aerial in a disagreement with a low lying tree and a few small scratches on the side of the Troopy. Pretty sure this makes us expert 4×4 drivers now.

Arriving at the campsite, we were very happy with our chosen spot, a 10m walk down to a protected beach and nestled among some trees, also home to some very nice hoppy friends!

This campsite also provided Steve with his best fishing chances yet, with some promising signs of fish life. In order to find the best spot, Steve hiked about 20 minutes to the edge of a cliff (sorry Mum) and managed to have his best success yet! ‘Like fishing in a barrel’, claimed the young fisherman.

We also had another visitor to the campsite, this one slightly less friendly…

We loved our time in Black Springs, but it was time to move on and head further up the peninsula. However, before doing this, we went for a drive around the rest of the National Park and were rewarded with some stunning views of the rugged coastline! We also managed to cook up Steve’s fish and had fish & chips with a view!

In typical Steve and Lauren fashion, we hadn’t organised our time ultra efficiently. So that afternoon, we drove back to Port Lincoln to do a clothes wash (no time for dry) before having to drive back to Coffin Bay for dinner that we had booked at a place called 1802. We made it, but the troopy had turned into a laundromat with drying clothes hanging everywhere. We managed to make it in time, with Steve a little nervous due to 1802’s reputation for being an oyster speciality restaurant… He didn’t need to worry as we had an absolutely fantastic seafood dinner with an awesome view and the oysters weren’t even too scary!

Post dinner we were off to our next spot at Greenly Beach, maybe not the best decision given the dangers of driving at night, but thankfully we had no kangaroo encounters. We eventually found the campsite in the dark and again the wind gods were following us to keep us nice and awake.

Waking up however, we found ourselves in a beautiful spot overlooking a protected bay and rock pools. We had an awesome day on the beach and loved having the chance to swim in calm(ish) water in bright blue skies. What a spot! In other news, Steve continued his good fishing form with some more salmon trout off the rocks (again, sorry Mum).

After a lovely few days, we made our way further up the coast to our first proper beach camp in Perlubie Beach. This was another amazing spot that we had seen while watching Trip in a Van and managed to secure a very nice spot for the evenings sunset. This was our last opportunity to have a picturesque camp before tackling the dreaded Nullarbor! Stay tuned for that!