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Nicole and Rene's Aussie adventures, Balranald (2026)

03/10/2026

Days 198 to 202. This will be a long post as it was a 5 day stay with lots of photos (maxed out again just to show as many as I could). So grab yourself a bevy or 2 and enjoy the journey.

We headed off to our next destination, Streaky Bay. We booked into the fabulous Islands Caravan Park just a few kilometres out of town. We were pleasantly surprised just how big the sites were. We had a lovely foreshore site where we had an amazing view of the Bay.
We decided to head into town to enjoy a b**r and w**e at the Streaky Bay Hotel. It was lovely just sitting outside looking out at the beautiful Bay discussing our plans for the next 5 days.
We had a couple of quiet days. You know, those days where you just have to catch up on washing, food shopping ect! We made sure we checked out the Drift Cafe with a cuppa overlooking the Bay and Jetty. A walk along the jetty is always enjoyable, you always get a great view of the town, get to chat to the local fishermen/women and quite often you see memorial plaques along the way or plaques representing the local families.
We had a lovely wander around town taking a few photos. Now, I have a fascination with churches, especially the old historical ones and when they have an open door…. Well, I just have to poke my nose in and have a look which was the case with the St Canute’s Catholic Church built in 1912. It has stunning stained glass windows behind the altar and a timber roof and was built from local stone.
Sunday we headed out to do the Cape Bauer Loop Drive. This loop took us on another incredible drive which took several hours. And yes, we found more 4wd tracks that led to some pretty good views. Our stops included Hallys Beach which was wild and rugged with great views. Probably one of the best and popular spots was the ‘Whistling Rocks and Blowholes’. This was a definite WOW moment. Just the sheer power of the waves coming up against the rocks was incredible in itself. But then the Whistling that this causes coming up under the cliffs and through holes in the rocks was just mind blowing. I took several videos of this just so we have them for our memories. I will share one of them in the comments so you can also experience this truly remarkable natural phenomenon. There are two viewing platforms on this part of the cliffs. One is for the Whistling Rocks and the other is for the Blowholes. We thought as we had timed it perfectly with high tide that we would get a spectacular performance from the blowholes too. But unfortunately this was not to be. Never mind, we loved what we seen.
Before stopping for lunch we went up one more unsealed road out to the edge of Cape Bauer. Thankfully it was a lot easier road to handle this time. Again the view was worth the drive with amazing rock formations and rugged cliff faces.
Monday was our last day in Streaky Bay. We firstly headed out to Back Beach which is a popular swimming, surfing and fishing spot with the locals which was just a short drive out of town. We were greeted with great views of the beach and stood for a few minutes admiring the coastline. However, we had to contend with the millions of flies that decided to join us 🪰 so we opted out of walking along the beach! Made it a little unpleasant and we wished we had our hat nets.
We headed back into town where we grabbed a coffee at the bakery before having a look at the replica of the white pointer shark. It was interesting to learn about how this 5 metre, 1520 kilogram shark was caught by 21 year old Dion Gilmore in April 1990 who was a local here in Streaky Bay. It was believed he caught the largest in the world which took more than 5 hours to catch.
For dinner we decided to catch the courtesy bus into the Streaky Bay Hotel. We got a wonderful surprise when we waited for the bus. Standing there waiting too, were 4 people we knew from home! Yep, 2 of Rene’s old workmates, Lester and George and their lovely wives. What were the odds? So we joined them and had a fabulous meal, just a few drinks 😜 and lots of laughs while catching up. What a great way to finish off the day and another destination. We have had an amazing time here in Streaky Bay exploring more of the rugged and breathtaking coastline and a town full of history.
In the meantime and until our next destination, enjoy the photos of Streaky Bay and our drive around Cape Bauer. Remember……

“Life Is Good” 🌅🚙 🌊 🍺🫶

30/09/2026

Good evening folks. Grab yourself a bevy and enjoy our next stop 🍺🍷☕️.
Days 196 & 197 of our Aussie adventures trip across SA and WA.
Our next destination was at Tractor Beach Campground which is a short drive from Streaky Bay. On the way we stopped off in Port Kenny for a walk along the old jetty and grabbed a coffee.
We arrived at the Tractor Beach campground, set up and went for a wander around checking out the campground and the Beach. The beach was very rocky so not the best to go for a walk on. We did spot a couple of the locals which is always nice. There are plenty of Shingleback’s here plus we seen a Western Netted Dragon sunning itself. The colours were quite spectacular and I tried to capture them in a photo with no success. It was like a bluish tinge around his legs/feet and underbelly and a coppery colour along his back.
On our 2nd day we headed down to Point Labatt Conservation Park where you will find the Sealion Colony. And oh WOW what an incredible experience. We spent quite a long time there just watching the Sealion’s laze in the sun, swimming in the ocean and sometimes there were a few tussles amongst the males. It looked like two young males were having a play fight in the water, but I was more inclined to say they were really having a good go at each other.
We then headed back along the coastline stopping in Sceale Bay (apparently pronounced Scale). We found a picnic table by the beach and had some lunch. Here we also found the interesting looking public toilet/outhouse… Camelot. It is built out of stone blocks with a pitched roof and a chimney. It has a scenic coastal view from the window and is described as ‘fit for a king’.
We continued exploring the coastline stopping in at various spots including Yanerbie, Speeds Point and Fisherman’s Paradise. We decided to follow a different road by this stage which was another very slow rocky 4wd track but it led to some pretty spectacular views. One of the many highlights along the Westall Way Loop Drive, was another VERY rough rocky drive that took you all the way to tip of Point Westall. It was that rough we needed a drink at the end before turning back 🤦🏻‍♀️. But wow, we were rewarded with a spectacular view! Just the sheer beauty and impact of the waves was enough to make you stand still, take it all in and admire.
We had two more stops before we headed back to camp which included the Granites and High Cliff. Loved the farmhouse near the High Cliffs viewing bay with its quirky entrance and fence line. You will see by the photos.
So we finished off another couple of fabulous days seeing more incredible and breathtaking parts of the Eyre Peninsula relaxing outside with b**r and w**e.
Until next time, enjoy the photos and see you at our next destination.

“Life Is Good” 🌅🚙 🦭🍺🍷🫶

27/09/2026

Catching up slowly! Enjoy.
After leaving Venus Bay, we headed to Talia
campground. It was only a short, under 30km drive with the last 6 or so k’s of that on a decent unsealed road. There are only 9 sites in this campground with no facilities. Some of the sites are quite exposed but we were on site 7 which was pretty protected. We chose this campground as it was right near the Talia Caves and some pretty spectacular coastline. We have 2 nights here to enjoy all it has to offer.
After we set up, we went for a drive to admire the rugged coastline of Talia Beach and stopped at several vantage points.
We heard about another must see along the cliffs and this was called ‘The Tub’ which is a deep collapsed crater that is 10 to 30 metres deep and about 50 metres wide. It is connected to the ocean by an underground sea tunnel. We walked/climbed down to the lower rocks to where we witnessed some pretty impressive waves crashing into the underground sea tunnel, cliff faces and rocks. What an absolutely incredible formation this is too and definitely one not to be missed.
We then headed down the stairs to the stunning Woolshed cave and rock formations. The Woolshed is a large cave carved into the granite cliff face and with the honeycombed ceiling, it truly is one of nature’s beautiful wonders.

We had a lovely 2nd day going for a walk up the road a bit to admire more of the incredible cliffs and again watch the waves crashing into the rocks, keeping in mind not to venture too close to the unpredictable edges. Again finished off the day chilling outside soaking up the sunshine and reflecting on our last 2 days. We even had a visitor who was having a feast on the dandelions beside our camp. There are so many of these Shingleback lizards around getting out and enjoying the sunshine.
So another lovely couple of days exploring the wonders of the Eyre Peninsula.
Stay tuned for our next destination.
“Life Is Good” 🌅🚙🍻🫶

26/09/2026

15th to 19th September.
Our next stop after Elliston was the beautiful coastal fishing town of Venus Bay. The Bay is home to Whiting, Salmon, Garfish, and even Gummy Shark just to name a few. Needless to say this is a very popular fishing and holiday destination.
You will also find the unique curved jetty here where you will always find a keen fisherman/woman throwing in a line. You will also find Prawn trawlers docking with their daily catches. We even managed to score a box of prawns for a very reasonable price 🍤.
We spent the next 5 nights at the Venus Bay Beachfront Tourist Park which had waterfront views and walking distance to all you needed in the Bay.
Sometimes while you travel around this amazing country, you meet some wonderful people that you just click with. After 3 1/2 years we finally caught up with 2 of those special friends that we met in WA, Eric and Wendy. It was also lovely to spend time with their family and another couple that were travelling with them here in Venus Bay. We spent the days hanging out, chatting, having a lot of laughs around the fire with a few drinks.
We went for walks along the Jetty, around the town and went for a drive up to the lookout which had some amazing views of the coastline and Bay.
We were told the Park made a mean burger and chips. So we thought we owed it to ourselves to share one of their ‘Huge’ burgers. Their chips were amazing and one of the best we have had. The burger also received top points and so glad we shared it. Needless to say, we didn’t eat dinner that night 🤦🏻‍♀️.
On the Friday night we all went to the Port Kenny Hotel which was just a few short kilometres away to celebrate one of Wendy and Erics friend’s birthday. We all enjoyed a wonderful meal at the hotel and the atmosphere again, was amazing. The hotel was under new ownership and after only a couple of months they have made a mark in the local community. Their hospitality and meals are 2nd to none.
After 5 wonderful nights, we said our farewells and continued on to our next destination. So stay tuned……
And yep, I still managed lots of photos to share 🤣.

“Life Is Good” 🌅🚙🥂🫶

Port Kenny Hotel
Venus Bay Caravan Park South Australia

25/09/2026

Good evening everyone. We are now back in civilization. So grab yourself a drink and enjoy our next part of our amazing adventure.
After a lovely overnight stay in Lock, we headed off to Elliston. On the way there was a really quirky entrance to a bushcamp where we just had to stop to get a few photos. Definitely caught the eye.
For the next 3 nights we decided to camp up at the Elliston Golf Course which is situated on top of the hill. At that stage there was only a light breeze and sunshine, perfect ☀️. We had the best views from up there overlooking the golf course and Elliston with the ocean in the background.
We went for a bit of a drive around the town and up along Little Bay Clifftop drive, stopping at a few vantage points to admire the cliffs and take just a few photos. We thought we’d stop off at the Elliston Hotel for a drink. We had a lovely chat with a few locals and Matt the owner while enjoying a b**r and w**e. The atmosphere of these coastal pubs are very warm and inviting and it’s so nice to be welcomed. Then it was time to chill outside the van with a few more b**rs watching the sunset before heading inside for the night. Now, we seen the forecast and it said we were due for about 4mm of rain starting at 2.30am with a possible thunderstorm. NO mention of any windstorms. Rene brought the awning in just in case it got a bit blowy overnight. Pretty much spot on time the rain arrived (2am) and with that, not only was there a continuous thunderstorm with a pretty spectacular lightning show for the next hour, but the winds also came along for the party. Now, I’ve never been so bloody scared in all my times of being in a storm (and we’ve had our fair share of them). The winds were relentless and the van was a rocking (and I mean it was ROCKING!). I was very grateful we have a 3.5 tonne van as I thought we were going to get blown over! Apparently the winds got up to 100km p/h and the gusts were a lot stronger! So needless to say I didn’t get much sleep!!! I don’t want to ever be in a real cyclone!
Sunday was a much calmer day. The only damage we woke up to from the storm was our skylight mesh screen got sucked in. So Rene fixed that and now all good. Today we planned to head out to do the Clifftop drive which ran along the edge of Anxious Bay and continued on around to Waterloo Bay. Before we started the drive,
We picked up a map at the information centre so we didn’t miss any sculptures that are positioned along the way as we knew there were quite a few. We had a lovely chat with the very helpful and informative lady there who steered us in the right directions of what to see etc. There were also some amazing murals on the walls of the Elliston Community Agricultural Hall which were very worthy of a photo or two.
The Clifftop Drive incorporated the Elliston Art and Sculpture trail and included some breathtaking views of the rugged coastline along the way. First stop was at Anxious Bay where you found the sculpture of ‘The Thongs’ standing tall with a great view of the Bay behind them. We continued on enjoying all the stops along the way and admiring the sculptures. There were another 14 scattered throughout the town and the other amazing Clifftop drive we did yesterday. Again, I will let the photos do the talking.
We finished off another fabulous day at the Golf Club. It was comp day for the club so tonight they were open to celebrate with drinks and a delicious meal. It was great chatting with the locals who made us feel very welcome. The meals are run by volunteers who prepare salads and bring them along for everyone to enjoy. Nothing beats a homemade meal. You had a choice of a Beef Schnitzel or a Tandoori chicken. Both were scrumptious.
Monday was another lovely day exploring Elliston. There were a couple of sculptures that we missed which we were determined to find. After we had a coffee at the local bakery, we went and found the missing artworks and sculptures whilst enjoying more of the coastline. We went up to Wentworth Point and walked along the point making sure we didn’t get too close to the cliffs edge as some of it was a bit unsafe. But boy oh boy you got some amazing views from up there. So many photo opportunities which again I got carried away with 🤦🏻‍♀️, but they are all part of our journey and great memories.
So enjoy looking at all the photos and reading about them. I did a few collages again as there were just too many photos 🤦🏻‍♀️🤣🤦🏻‍♀️. And yes, I maxed out again 🤦🏻‍♀️.
Until next time, remember….

“Life Is Good” 🌅🚙🥂🫶

23/09/2026

Gidday folks. It’s been a while since I’ve updated our adventures. But you’ll have to wait a bit longer as we have been and still are off grid with no reception. We are currently near Streaky Bay so managed 1 bar to post this before heading back out. So stay tuned as there will be quite a few posts one after the other once I get sorted 🤦🏻‍♀️.

14/09/2026

What an interesting little town Lock is. We were not sure what to expect when we decided to go there and stay a night. So we pulled up at the Caravan park, found a spot and rang the manager, Graham, who came over to see us. He was very helpful and friendly which is always a great way to start. We are only staying the one night so after we set up we walked into town.
Lock is a small grain-farming town with a population currently under 300.
There are some lovely old buildings all with stories behind the closed doors. There is also an amazing mural of Sergeant Albert Ernest Lock whom the town is named after and who fought in WW1. The town was first named Terre after a local property but in February 1918 it became officially known as Lock. There is an interesting read in one of the photos regarding more of how it came about.
We walked down to the Lock Community Park where you will find Locks Big Thing, ‘The Wheat Lumping Scene’. Again, there is a photo which will tell you all about the work load these men endured.
We also found out their local footy team, the Roo’s, were in the grand final against the Cummins Ramblers, which was being played in Cummins on Saturday. They won the grand final last year so were out to go back to back. And they won, 2 years in a row. Well done guys on a back to back win.
We finished our walk at the very interesting Lock & Districts Heritage Museum which is in the original police station. Each room showcased a different part of the history that represents Lock . The police station shows the original ‘charge room’ and the family residence as it was all in the one building. Then the lovely Kerri took us out to the original Tooligie Siding School, which was really interesting and then into the railway office. After that we checked out the lockup house before entering the huge Machinery shed that housed an amazing range of farm machinery. Too many to mention, so I will let the photos show you.
We finished off a really enjoyable day in Lock relaxing at home outside with a b**r while Rene shucked another dozen oysters 🦪.
So, thank you Lock for your warm welcome and interesting history that I think every traveller should experience.
Hope you enjoy all the photos of how we seen this lovely town.
Stay tuned for the next adventure.

12/09/2026

Gidday everyone. I’m a little behind in my updates, sorry. I just had soooo many photos from our next destination that it has taken a bit longer to get organized 🤦🏻‍♀️. So I will apologize now for the length of this post and for all the collage but it was the only way to share them and our experiences.
So grab a drink or two or three if needed 🤣 and enjoy reading all about our next stop and the photos 🥂🍺 ☕️

Day 183/Wednesday.
After 10 nights in Coffin Bay, we packed up and headed off. We were planning on continuing up the coastline, but changed our minds, again. We were told about the ‘Best bakery’ around the Eyre plus there are lots of mosaic artworks and history in Cummins. So, like we have done before, we decided…… why not head there and check it all out. That’s one of the many beauty’s of living on the road, you can change your mind whenever you want to. We love visiting the small regional towns and supporting the locals. We always find some interesting things to admire and love to learn about their history. We pulled up at the caravan park which is a small park with 12 powered sites, unpowered sites and 2 cabins. We met the wonderful managers, Steve and Janine who were very helpful and gave us a few ideas on what to see while here. After setting up we headed into town to grab a pie and coffee at the ‘Five Loaves Bakery’. And they didn’t disappoint!!! Rene had his fix on a chili cheese pie (which had a decent kick to it apparently 🥵 🌶️) and I had a scrumptious red w**e and garlic pie. Both we will rate an 8/10. So a pretty good score. Their cakes and other delicacies were very tempting as well which can wait until tomorrow to be tried. I can see why they are ranked to high!

Thursday.
We had a lovely day out exploring all that Cummins had to offer. We were on a mission to find all the mosaics, sculptures and murals/artworks while we walked around the town. A lot of the mosaics had 3D parts which made them even more interesting. And one I even needed the help of a local to locate as it was situated in the hospital grounds. So I was very grateful for her help and totally worth finding. The Cummins Mosaic group was established in 2014 in collaboration with artist Karen Carr from Port Lincoln. The group meets each week and are self-funded. They rely on local companies for donations of materials like ceramic and glass tiles, old crockery which the Op Shop are a great source of. So thank you to all the volunteers for making some incredible pieces of artwork for us to enjoy.
Loved how a lot of the power poles were used to display these amazing pieces as well as a few painted artworks. It even looked like some of the children from the local school contributed with a few painted poles across the road. It was great to see how the whole community seemed to be involved in this in some way.
We eventually stopped in at the bakery again and yes, this time it was a cake and coffee. We don’t normal eat cakes but we just had to give them a try. Probably regretted it afterwards 🤣but we did enjoy them while we ate them. Naturally I took a photo 🤷🏻‍♀️.
One thing we really loved about this town was just how welcoming and friendly the locals are. Everywhere we walked people said hi to us or waved when we were driving by. When we were looking at a mosaic one lady stopped and asked if we were ok as we looked lost. I said we were just admiring all the artworks which she thought was wonderful.
Another must see was the amazing mosaics, murals, photographs and memorabilia reflecting the rail history and a tribute to the pioneers of the grain industry at the Cummins Railway Triangle Park. It is also where you will find the Wheaton Lumper statue which was a tribute to pioneers who used to carry bags of wheat, barley and oats that weighed up to 85 kilos and stacked them up in piles up to 22 bags high!
The mosaic toilet block was incredible too which had some beautiful mosaic mirrors inside. Here you can learn about the railway heritage through the murals and the fascinating Dulcie.
I will let the photos tell the story further. This spectacular art filled toilet block achieved an international toilet tourism award in 2018 which the town is very proud of.
So thank you Cummins, we are so glad we changed our plans and stopped here for a couple of nights. Such a beautiful town full of character, history and pride and where traveler’s are warmly welcomed.

09/09/2026

Thought I’d share a video we took while on the shores of the Kellidie Peninsula. It was very windy so I didn’t say much lol. It was just a beautiful spot on the other side of Coffin Bay that I thought I’d share and have it as a memory for us.

09/09/2026

Gidday everyone, we have now left Coffin Bay, so here is our last 3 days of what we got up to. Grab yourself a bevie and enjoy the long update.
Sunday we thought we would go for another drive, this time just around the town. So we drove up to the Coffin Bay Lookout where we had a nice view of the Coffin Bay town, Kellidie Bay and Peninsula plus Goat Island. We then thought we would go for a drive through Kellidie Bay Conservation Park where we just so happen to find yet another 4wd track! This one took us along the edge of the Bay on a track that made me question why were we doing this🤷🏻‍♀️! Making sure I didn’t hit low lying tree branches and juggling the rocks was all part of the fun apparently. But we got through it and enjoyed seeing all the wildflowers and ocean views. We also came across another emu with his chicks just wandering along the road not bothered by us being there at all.
Then it was off to the Coffin Bay Hotel for a Father’s Day lunch to celebrate the amazing dad Rene is. We had a delicious seafood basket (which we shared!) and a lovely bottle of w**e.
On Monday, we thought we would go and check out some more of this stunning, rugged coastline and a couple of small towns close by. We found another fabulous 4wd track (how unusual for us) that took us down to the very tip of Kellidie Peninsula on the Kellidie Bay which is directly on the other side of Coffin Bay. The road in was a little rocky and slow but nothing we can’t handle. Oh and this time I let Rene do the driving! I mean, I can’t have all the fun all the time.
After we finished exploring the Peninsula, it was off to a very popular Cafe near Wangary that was highly recommended. We were told they made a mean pancake and their pork burgers were pretty good too. Minniribbie Farm is a pig farm with a great cafe and an antique shop with some very interesting collections to browse through. We checked out the all the pig enclosures (from a distance of course) which we were really impressed with just how clean they all were. There were also several enclosures that housed piglets and their mothers and gosh those babies were cute. Then it was time to taste some of their fresh delights that we have heard so much about. We decided to share one of their Elvis Presley pancakes with ice cream, maple syrup and smoked crispy bacon! And oh boy it didn’t disappoint! We highly recommend a visit for anyone heading out that way.
We then went for a lovely drive up to Farm Beach where we checked out the beach and thought we would leave a bit of beach artwork (photo will show that winner of a design lol) and then headed down to Little Douglas. We were going to drive to the end of Horse Peninsula but we could only go a short distance before we arrived at a locked gate as the rest of the peninsula was private property.
So we decided to then head back home to relax before Rene opened up a dozen fresh delicious oysters for dinner 🦪.
Our last day was actually spent in Port Lincoln as we needed to get some groceries, fuel and wash the car again. We finished our day with a delicious bbq dinner accompanied by a very nice drop of w**e 🍷.
So, our 10 nights stay in Coffin Bay has been very memorable, which has included a very informative oyster farming tour, beautiful walks, eating lots of delicious oysters, taken lots of photos of the mosaics around town, enjoyed an amazing day out in the National Park, had a couple of lovely meals out and seen more emus than we have ever before. The caravan park is a great place to base yourself with very generous size sites, good amenities and friendly staff. We even enjoyed w**e tasting by the fire pit one afternoon while chatting to fellow travelers. I think one of our many highlights was our day out at Poona Farm Estate. Definitely a farm stay I would camp up at once they have it all up and running. We have also enjoyed learning all about the Oyster farming aquaculture and how the fishing industry all started back in 1802. Coffin Bay is also known as ‘A Fisherman’s Paradise’ and you can see why with the pristine calm waters of the Bay.
So, enjoy the photos and until next time, as we say…….

“Life Is Good” 🌅🚙🦪🍷🫶

Nicole and Rene's Aussie adventures

03/10/2026

30/09/2026

27/09/2026

26/09/2026

25/09/2026

23/09/2026

14/09/2026

12/09/2026

09/09/2026

09/09/2026

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