Mt DUTTON BAY SA

  Mt Dutton bay is referred to as a Town, I didn't find the General Store nor the Hotel that is unlicensed (and  so has no beer) that I expected. The information that I had told me that Mt Dutton Bay has a proud history as busy port "in the days when Ketches plied the waters of the Eyre Peninsula collecting wheat and wool for markets in Europe".  The Jetty and the nearby Woolshed are heritage listed and reflect this legacy. By now it was blowing hard with heavy rain and really uncomfortable at the campground beside the Woolshed on the point. I needed to find some protection from the wind which I found a short distance away at Farm Beach that had a little campsite for $5 a night.

 Playing with the camera at Farm Beach campground

Even the pigeons thought it was miserable weather!

SHERINGA BEACH to MT DUTTON BAY SA

 The day was windy cold with rainy periods on and off all day which made it time to leave Sheringa Beach. The drive to Mt Dutton was pleasant enough via sheep grazing country and pretty yellow paddocks of Canola. Pity the weather wasn't a bit nicer.

Below, a small Chapel nestled in a paddock about 300 metres from the road 

 A simple rural Cemetery under the trees

 The Church is now a private residence complete with lawnmowers

10 kilometres of picturesque gravel leads to Mt Dutton

There is beauty in a Canola Crop

 

ELLISTON and SHERINGA BEACH SA

 There is an Hospital at Elliston so I decided to call in and have my burn checked out as it was feeling better and I wanted to remove the bandages if I could. How frustrating that simple task turn out to be. I was attended to by an old male Nurse who instead of doing as I asked spent 25 minutes telling me why he was too busy to look after me. He could have done the job well within that time. I eventually left after he told me to come back in a few hours, obviously after he had knocked off. I eventually took the bandages off myself and saw that the burn had all but healed so there will be no more mention of my injury.
 Whilst here I looked around and determined that Elliston was OK with some  nice views and a small but friendly looking Town Centre.

  A bit further south and another 12 kms of gravel road that led from the Hwy to the beach. Another rugged and quite pretty place with it's own primitive Campsite. For most of the day I managed to revel in having the beach all to myself until around late afternoon a number of others also discovered the site. I would have stayed longer than one night but I don't like crowds that destroy the impact of a secluded spot. And besides, their generators are a pain to put up with. Why don't they use effective Solar Power (like me) as it costs about half as much as a generator and doesn't need fuel?

WALKERS ROCKS via PORT KENNY and VENUS BAY SA

   The information I had, suggested that Port Kenny offered "easy access to some of the best experiences the West coast has to offer". Well I didn't have that experience. It might have been the blustery weather on the day I visited but I found the place a bit sad and depressing. There is a Pub, a Roadhouse come Caravan Park (which was deserted and looked rundown), a small Post Office and of course a windswept jetty.  To top it off I had for lunch about the worst fish and chips that I have had for many a year. needless to say I was glad to leave.

 Venus Bay although, slightly more developed was no less uninviting. A small place, yes with its jetty in pride of place, definitely did not want Free Campers according to the many prohibition signs around. It seemed wherever I looked there was a sign saying that I should not do something. I think that the Caravan Park that had hijacked the entire beachfront may have had something to do with this. again I was not in a hurry to stay.

 In contrast Walkers Rocks, a part of The Newland Conservation Park, was more like a place where I would feel comfortable. Well off the Hwy, at the end of a well maintained gravel road, the Campground although primitive, had all that I needed. Seclusion (I was the only one here for most of my 3 night stay), a flushing Toilet (a rarity) and even a Shower (with an innovative method of heating), all close to a rugged beach on one side and a rocky headland on the other. Not a "Bucket List" entrant, yet a nice place to  sit for a while.
 

                                                                                    A lazy visitor to the campsite

The innovative hot water system heats up in the sun

problem was though somebody pinched the shower rose