Day 36 Cowell to Port Lincoln

Cold wet miserable morning

We headed back into the town to use the amenities there 

Came across this lovely new playground that is almost nearing completion 

there were two workmen there that I chatted to who told me they could turn on the water slide if I would like ha ha hah they obviously said it as a joke as they said the weather at the moment was definitely unusually cold and wet for this time of the year

We drove down to the waterfront where there was also a new building that looks like it was going to be a cafe



There were a couple of tractors down at the boat ramp bringing in fishing boats

Looks like they were bringing in their oyster catch haul



We noticed this sign and in fact we did part of this drive later

We checked out this shelter

That had some information on signboards in it with some mosaics 

We walked out on the boardwalk that started at that little shelter

The lookout at the end of the boardwalk had some good views out from it





After that we headed back out onto the road heading south towards Port Lincoln

Noticed some fresh tree plantings on the side of the road as the landscape did look quite sparse

Spotted a kite flying overhead

We could see out to the ocean from this scenic drive

Having chosen to drive along the scenic drive the road ended up as gravel



We could see some campers set up along the cliff top

This was one of the turn offs to the clifftop campsites

We reached the tiny town of Port Gibbon

But did not stop there

We continued on the scenic drive and stopped next to the track to the look out

Great views from there too but would have been nice if the sun had been shining



















Bit of information at the lookout



Continuing on the tourist Drive







We ended up back on the Lincoln highway again





Approaching Arno Bay we decided to pull in there







And head for the boardwalk



There were two walks that we could go on







We chose to go on the mangrove Trail walk first







There was a shelter partway along with lots of information



The boardwalk took us along a heathland with lots of flowering shrubs













and mangroves

We reached a section where there was an additional loop on the trail to a wet well

This section had some Pine trees hence the name on the seat



It also had some thick rope around the edges of the path







We reached the historic site but could not see any evidence of a well soak





Managed to find a section beside the path where there were both types of pig face growing as per the signs



Bill found this memorial plaque























Unfortunately we reached a section of the boardwalk that was under repair so we had to turn around and go back the way we came as my map of the walk shows





Managed to catch a photo of the green back crabs before they disappeared into their holes





This was the sign at the other end of the closed section

Having got back to the car park we decided to head out on the boardwalk the other direction to the mouth of the creek





























Where there was a look out at the end and we could walk down onto the beach















This is my all trails tracking of the walks in both directions

It was definitely morning tea/lunch time so we decided to head off to the Arno Bay cafe using WikiCamps for directions

However unfortunately it was not open and there was no other cafe in town

So we went back out onto the highway heading south



We bypassed Port Neill





and we bypassed Lipson Cove



And headed for Tumby Bay







The first thing we did was try to find somewhere to park with the van and then we headed off to the only place that we could see open which was the bakery where we ended up having some lunch and a drink

This town had a lot of street art so we walked around and took photos of some of them

























This snapper was my favourite one

I tagged this one from WikiCamps as it looks like there were six entries in a street art competition in 2021 and this one I have tagged here is the one in the photo below




After walking back to where we had to parked the car we also found these





This sign was on the foreshore

We took the photo of this interesting monument

And I looked up on the Internet afterwards for an understanding of what it all meant……

More of the street art as we drove away



We then stopped off at the entrance to the highway where the massive silos had murals on them



It was interesting how the murals changed as you walked along to the viewing point

Bill found this really pretty flower

Where there was a whole field of them in front of the mural

We then headed back onto the Lincoln Highway to Port Lincoln



Alongside the bay

With the huge port loading bays in sight ahead

Driving through town

Heading towards the place that we had selected on WikiCamps to stay the night

It sounded great on WikiCamps



And had an impressive entrance but on driving in and around we felt this was not suitable for us

So we looked up on WikiCamps for another one close by that sounded really good so we headed off in that direction not far along the way

We were delighted with our change of choice we were welcomed by very very friendly lady Lyn who gave us lots of information about the surrounding area as well

Having set up our van in a lovely little nook in the bushes we unhooked and headed back into town for some sightseeing





Took photo of this statue of Maykbe diva

Drove along the foreshore

And drove around the marina looking at all the many fishing boats



We then drove on to Billy Lights point

Nice views at the point



And went for a bit of a walk around the point

Saw this lizard outside the art gallery

Went past Matthew Flinders and his cat sculpture on our way back into town to do our shopping and to buy some wine and then go to the Grand Tavern to have dinner and drinks

And this memorial archway









This is the HEMA maps tracking of our days journey

And this expanded bit around town shows our sightseeing driving

As well as welcoming us and giving us information about the area, Lyn had presented us with this cookie pack with some biscuits and some chocolate that we enjoyed when we got back to our van that evening