Are you ready for part 2 of our Eyre Peninsula trip? If you haven't already you might want to read Part 1 first and check out the chaos (oh I mean fun) that began our trip.
Day 6
Thankfully we made a good choice last night and didn't stay up chatting with our friends (which would have been easy to do as we hadn't seen them in awhile) and got an early night because the twins had a rough sleep and spent most of it in our bed, which I'm sure you can imagine, four in a caravan bed is not overly comfortable. 😩
We again hit the road and decided to do some exploring on our way to our next destination. I had a 🐝 in my bonnet about going to see Lake MacDonnell as we were so close and I'd seen so many pictures, I wanted to see it for myself, so Greg agreed and off we went. It was incredible and kids were amazed and confused at how one side can be blue and the other pink so that brought up a lot of questions. (Mummy may have let daddy answer those 😜).
We followed the road all the way to the coast to check it out and WOW, just WOW! The sand dunes along the way and the view at the coastline were spectacular! Who could believe we were in South Australia. Pity the kids behaviour wasn't matching the views we were seeing. 🙄 Constant fighting and complaining and whining and argh!!!!
After a quick snack here, a walk out on the jetty, and a million questions from Master J we eventually got back in the car and made our way to Fowlers Bay where will stay for a couple of days before slowly making the trek back towards home. Kind of a sad thought that we are now at the furthest point in our trip. 😥 Come to think of it maybe that's why the kids behaviour is so poor too, they can probably sense it in us. 🤷♀️
After we checked in at the Fowlers Bay Caravan Park (Click here for details), Master J hounded (and I mean hounded) us to go fishing, so even though Greg knew it was not really a good idea, he took the kid anyway. This was not surprisingly unsuccessful with the weather and time of day, so I suggested we check out the sand dunes instead. Now this was great fun (you can hire sand boards but we thought that would probably land one of our lot in hospital). Instead we just climbed to the top (which was actually hard work for me due to a crappy hip and knee), the kids (and dog) had a ball. They ran up and down and slid on their bottoms and laughed and it took so much of the tension out of the day. Yes the sand filled up every pocket of their clothes and every crevice of their body but who cares it was fun! Nothing a shower and washing couldn't fix!😛
After an easy dinner, marshmallows over the communal campfire at the camp kitchen, and a quick washdown, we sent the kids to bed for an early night to hopefully wake up in a better mood for their surprise the next day.
Day 7
I'm not sure who was more excited this morning, mummy or the kids!!! Thankfully everyone got a fairly good sleep and woke up in much better frames of mind (including mummy and daddy) and the kids were trying to guess their surprise which made me laugh. They eventually worked out we were going on a boat and Master J cottoned on that it was a whale watching tour. 🐳
When our friends arrived we met them at the jetty and set off on an experience I'll never forget. For anyone heading to Fowlers Bay I highly recommend heading out with EP Cruises on a whale tour, it was spectacular! We would have loved to see them jumping out of the water but seeing a mother and her baby was just as special. Well you would think it was wouldn't you, but the kids were actually more excited about the sealions, go figure!!!
I guess I can see their point to a degree, they were fun to watch and as soon as we saw them on the shore, they slid into the water and started playing and jumping and swimming around the boat. They were right little characters! Click here to see video.
Here are some more pictures from the day!
Well we couldn't escape the rain forever, it is winter after all, but we are lucky this is the first rain we've encountered on this trip, pity it was while we were on the boat. 🌧 On the upside it was towards the end mostly. Once off the boat we grabbed a child each (a friend also grabbed one) and we made a mad dash back along the jetty (getting soaked) to the kiosk where we had fish and chips for lunch.
The rain didn't dampen our spirits though and Greg and Master J braved the intermittent rain to attempt some more fishing 🎣 while the girls and I had a relaxing arvo just chilling out together in the van reading books, colouring and watching movies. It was a great day despite the rain, the boys breaking a fishing line, losing a big squid and catching nothing, but we were all tired so we had an early dinner and played a family board game together before going to bed.
Day 8
Argh, 😫 so much for an early night, the wind and rain kept me awake and I was also up for about an hour in the middle of the night to take both girls to the toilet, and Miss A couldn't get back to sleep. But surprisingly the kids have woken up in quite a good frame of mind which is great because the weather is terrible still, and we start the return journey towards home. We are heading back to Perlubie where we intend to stay for a couple of nights to relax and recharge.
WTF......... seriously, a 3 hour trip just took us 6 hours! What a joke!!! After numerous toilet stops, a dump point stop, getting fuel, having snacks, doing a quick shop, having lunch and collecting wood we eventually arrived but attitudes and behaviours had deteriorated rapidly, and that's not just from the kids. All our attitudes now matched the weather, miserable and angry.😡
One upside was there was hardly anyone there so it was quiet and we could take our pick of where to set up and no-one could hear us arguing with each other. Greg and I hoped that a campfire and marshmallows after tea would help brighten the mood, but I think we missed that boat and everyone was beyond it, so it didn't help at all. So off to bed it was for everyone. 😴
Day 9
😭, so much for sleep improving my mood, I had a crappy night so my cranky pants were certainly on this morning, but everyone else (and the weather) were looking brighter so there was some hope for the day. Plus we are staying put for a few days so no rushing around and we can relax and reset.🤞
We spent the day as I hoped we would by chilling out, going for a walk along the beach, the kids ran around and played (in and out of the water), and after lunch we hopped in the car and drove along the beach to the point, where we did a bit of fishing from the shore. Guess what???? We actually caught a few, only a few but the kids were excited.
The day turned out quite nice, relaxing and chatting with locals and other campers that had arrived and the kids even going to bed early so we sat around the fire with a glass of wine and enjoyed the quiet. Ready to face tomorrow!
Day 10
See the above pic, do I need to say more about how our morning started!!! Argh, unfortunately travelling with young kids this can often be a problem. Of course on their beds we have brolly sheets which helps avoid a lot of this, but of course that is on their beds. I made an unprecedented rookie error of allowing a child in our bed during the night, without taking them to the toilet first. Lesson learnt!!!! Lucky it was a nice day to dry it out, despite the morning starting off foggy and very cold!
The weather turned out so nice the kids went paddling out in the water, the girls even had their bathers on and we actually had to dig out the sunscreen. Who would have thought in winter it could be so nice.😎
It was a spectacular day and Master J and his personality got himself and Greg a trip out in a tinny with a very generous camper to do some fishing for the afternoon. Do you think the kid was excited? He was in tears as the guy was launching his boat because he thought he was going without him. The girls didn't mind and had a lovely relaxing day playing in the sand and water, and just spending time with me.
The boys were out all arvo but thankfully came back loaded with King George Whiting and squid so we had the most amazing dinner. Unfortunately the kids became overtired and cranky so once they headed to bed we sat down with some new friends we'd met, for a drink and a chat and watched another amazing sunset.
Thanks again for reading and stay tuned for the final installment of this trip but in the meantime, don't forget to follow us on Facebook and/or Instagram via links below.