PORT LOWLY and FITZGERALD BAY SA

 My GPS has died and I can't live without it, would never be able to find the free camps. The battery has failed and won't hold a charge.A replacement isn't sold in shops so that meant a stopover in Whyalla to buy a new GPS unit. It seems that I have to fix or replace something almost every month now, hence the need to save something from my Pension when I can.  Whyalla is a big place; enough said. I've forgotten Whyalla already.
  It's not far to Point Lowly where I understand there is a Campground with payment by donation and nearby a more primitive free camp at Fitzgerald Bay.
Late afternoon at Point Lowly, the rain has gone but it is windy so its time to stop for the day. On the Point sits an old Lighthouse and Watchman's Cottage with some exposed camping spots, a nice view of the upper Spencer Gulf and the hills of the Yorke Peninsula in the hazy distance. In contrast on the other side of the point there lies an operating Oil Refinery with a long service jetty jutting far into the Gulf. One night was enough.

  Fitzgerald Bay turned out to be a far better choice and I wished that I had come here first. The clear, bright, blue, waters of the gulf where pleasantly presented from atop the hill behind the shoreline. A rough track, that continued to narrow as I went, led for a kilometre from the end of the bitumen to about 6 separate areas, suitable for camping, scattered next to the shore. Trouble was all but one or two were already taken so I grabbed what I could get. The beach was unusual, rather than sand the foreshore was made up of rounded stones that extended well into the water. In addition, a line of trees stretched along the beach about halfway between the bank and the water. I later found out that they where partially submerged when the tide came in. The weather has improved and I enjoyed it here sitting in the afternoon sun.
  Well dear Reader, that completes my circumnavigation of the Eyre Peninsula that has taken almost 3 weeks. I did like the secluded beaches and the fact that I could enjoy them mostly without company. The lush farmlands and pastures, the type country and the weather pattern at this time of year reminded me of Tasmania. I recommend this trip to you but suggest it be better undertaken a little later, perhaps mid to end October so as to miss the rain, wind and cold nights.
  Tomorrow I shall head via Port Augusta to Port Pirie on the eastern side of the Spencer Gulf and the northern part of the Yoke Peninsula.