Whyalla is pretty much the last town on the Eyre Peninsula. We continued north to the very tip of the Spencer Gulf and around the corner, where Port Augusta sat. As we approached it we could see the waterway getting narrower and narrower, and the Flinders Ranges rising on the other side.

We have been through Port Augusta several times so we drove right through and continued to one of our favourite places - Port Germein. This is a very small town famous for its very long jetty and its blue swimmer crabs. Apparently the jetty had been destroyed about a year ago by a very bad storm on top of a king tide. It took a few months to fix it, and the town almost went bankrupt in the meantime. But now it was back, as good as ever, so we settled in to start crabbing.

We caught lots of crabs, but they were all either very small or females, and we had to throw them back in. This was very unusual and very frustrating. We gave up that afternoon and tried again the next morning - again the same thing happened. We caught one good big male and he sat in the bucket for ages. We continued again with females and babies, and eventually decided to throw him back. It was too much hassle to cook just one.

After we threw him in, the very next basket pulled up another big boy. What now?? Back in he went as well. We continued with more girls and babies, with the very occasional large male. In the end we gave up and gave the one or two males we had to another group who was crabbing. Most people were having similar problems, and I believe there are large fishing trawlers clearing the good ones, and we are left with their rejects. Very glad we had caught so many in Cowell, or we would have been very disappointed.

While here we also visited Port Pirie, the next town along about 20 kms away. This was a big industrial town with a refinery and lots of serious looking machines. It also had a large shopping precinct. Most people who live in Port Germein work and shop in Pirie, but are very glad to head back out again as quickly as possible.

The next day was New Year's Eve and in the afternoon the family we had given our crabs to on the jetty knocked on our door and gave us back five crabs - already cooked. That's a good return on our investment! Apparently they had caught lots. We did find they were smallish and a few were females, so perhaps they were keeping a few more than they should have been. Anyway, they invited us for a drink and a chat, and it was a very good start to New Year's Eve celebrations.

Later on the whole town gathered at the Goods Shed at the base of the jetty, and a few of the locals set off some contraband fireworks they had imported from the Northern Territory. They set some off just after 9 pm for the kids, and kept the rest for midnight. A little bit later we walked up to the jetty and saw a cardboard box in flames. There was a mad rush to put out the fire, and thankfully enough were saved to put on a good show.

Happy New Year!

GeorgeY's Bit

Port Germein is still a nice place to have a relaxing holiday. Yes the crabs were overfished and the Fisheries Police needs to have some presence in Port Germein same as in Port Lincoln. Maybe it was the mild weather, or the easy walk jetty, or the friendly residents. Could be just the combination of all factors. Is it worth another visit? You bet.