Day 40: Fri 24 Mar 23 - Whyalla to Tumby Bay

March 24, 2023

Fri 24 Mar 23 - Whyalla to Tumby Bay (Towed 217km)

17 Deg and overcast at Whyalla, light drizzle mid morning, clearing to become a sunny afternoon and 21 Deg at Tumby Bay. We drove away from the Weeroona Football Park at 0815 and first stop was 100km down the Lincoln Highway at Cowell. We parked at the foreshore for our morning brew, before taking a wander through this very neat town with some lovely old buildings and some interesting sights. From Cowell, we drove a further 45km to Arno Bay, another small coastal town, but we didn't stay long. We drove past the next town along the route, Port Neill before arriving at Tumby Bay by 1245. The highway from Whyalla today was very good - some of the best road we've driven along this trip. It's wide, and in very good condition, and there was relatively little traffic. There was some very entertaining discussion (with very colourful language) between two truckies who were going at each other over the UHF radio - don't know what the cause was, but we nearly missed the turnoff into Tumby Bay because of the distraction. We checked into the caravan park which is in a great location about 1.5 km from the town centre along the beach front. By now the sun had come out, and even more pleasing there was no wind. After setting up on our large gravel drive through site (impressed with how large the sites is), we had some lunch, then walked into Tumby Bay along the foreshore for a look around. We wandered around in the warm sunshine for about an hour, enjoying the views across the blue water, and were amazed at some of the most stunning street art around town that we've seen anywhere. We returned to the van where Noel caught up on some washing and cleaning, while I got out of her way and went for a ride. It was a beautiful evening sitting outside enjoying our sunset drink with the sound of some very active bird life. The caravan park is full, but surprisingly quiet. Fingers crossed the weather for the next two days stays as good as it was this afternoon.

Cowell -Painted Silos

Cowell - Fish sculptures

Cowell - Main Street

Cowell - Mosaic

Cowell - A new marina with a few sites to be filled

Cowell - A line up of massive tow rigs for fishing boats

Cowell - Mangrove Walk

Cowell - Main Street

Cowell - Commercial Hotel with Black Stump in the foreground.
The Black Stump was a new years prank in 1972 when a large stump was placed between the two pubs with a sign saying "The best Pub this side of the black stump". It was eventually stolen, but later replaced with this 2060kg stump.