After the scorcher of a day on the Nullarbor, we had a surprisingly pleasant cool night. Woke up the next morning to a grey cloudy sky and even a hint of rain. The radio was still warning of a scorching hot day in Adelaide with a late change. It seems the change had already hit us.

The next part of our journey consisted of trekking down the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula, a region signposted as the 'Seafood Frontier.' This whole coast revolved around seafood of various types, both as an industry and as a recreation - fishing, squidding, crabbing and oyster farming to name a few.

Our first stop was Ceduna, a large town with a nice beach and a long jetty, and a few shops with lots of Aboriginals loitering in the streets. We considered doing some fishing, but the weather wasn't great, and as we had been here twice before, we moved on quickly. However, not before stopping for a brunch of freshly chucked oysters on the roof of the seafood café.

The next stop for most people is Streaky Bay, but we discovered there was another place called Smoky Bay on the way, so we checked it out.

This was a very small town with a nice beach and a long jetty. There was a caravan park, a general store, a sprinkling of houses, and about a dozen large sheds full of oyster processing plants. By this time the clouds had cleared and it was getting quite hot again, so we went for a swim in the cage attached to the jetty - to keep the sharks out. This jetty was amazing - it was built only a few years ago after the previous jetty was disintegrating. It had seats and shelters, and planks sponsored by local people and businesses. The whole thing cost over $600,000, mostly raised by local townspeople. Not bad for such a small town.

That afternoon we tried some fishing. George made friends with some local pelicans. When he reeled a fish in they were more excited than he was - waiting for their share of the booty. When it was quickly packed away, they weren't happy.

The next day dawned grey and cloudy and cold again, so we moved on. But not before buying two dozen of the biggest and freshest oysters we had ever seen, just in off the oyster farms.

Next stop was a place called Haslam. This was a tiny village with a nice beach and a long jetty. There was not even a general store or a caravan park, but there was a free campground for self-contained vehicles. If the weather had been better, we would seriously have considered staying a while.

But we moved on to Streaky Bay, a reasonable sized town with a nice beach and a long jetty. This place had a caravan park and a free campground. And a full on shopping centre with two IGAs, two cafés, and even two hairdressers. And of course, a shop with fresh seafood and local oysters. By this time the clouds had cleared and the sun had come out, but it was not hot enough to swim. So we fished off the long jetty, then had some freshly chucked oysters for lunch.

We met a young British couple who were fishing, and feeding the fish to the pelicans. Apparently they were vegetarians. They enjoyed catching fish, but not eating them. The pelicans were very happy to oblige.

The next day we decided to explore the local area - there were several bays and beaches on the map, but all were on dirt roads except one place called Sceale Bay. This was a very small village with a nice beach, but didn't even have a jetty. There was no caravan park, no campground, and definitely no general store.

As we headed south we went past Murphy's Haystacks, another large rock formation. Although smaller than Wave Rock, it looked quite impressive as it was in the middle of a field. Nice quiet spot, so we stopped for morning tea and had another genny coffee.

Next port of call was a place listed on the map as Port Kenny. This was a tiny place that looked like a ghost town. There were a sprinkling of houses, most with 'For Sale' signs, and all looking completely derelict. There was a tiny jetty and a very forlorn looking pub on the highway.

We quickly moved on to the next place, another small town called Venus Bay. This had a nice beach and a long curved jetty. There was a caravan park and a general store. This felt positively civilised so we stayed for a while. The lady who runs the caravan park apparently lives at Port Kenny, so it's not completely dead yet.

Venus Bay is an almost circular bay, connecting to the ocean via a very small opening. The town is very near the point, so looks out onto serene peaceful waters. However over the ridge there is a lookout over the rugged cliffs and wild waves of the ocean. We went fishing and squidding a few times, netting only one small fish. On our last day we went squidding at night as we were told the lights on the jetty attract them. Just for fun, we took our crab nets as well. No squid, but two fat juicy sand crabs.

The next day we moved on to Elliston - another small town with a long jetty. However this jetty was about 3 kms out of town. There was a caravan park near the jetty and another in town. We were tossing up between the two when the tourist info man informed us there was parking for self-contained vehicles at the golf club car park. We went to check it out - it was on the edge of town on a hill, and it overlooked the whole bay. Spectacular.

Elliston is known for its squidding, and there is even a large statue of a squid on the beach. So we gave it a shot, and finally George landed his first squid. We had calamari entre for lunch, followed by fresh sand crab. We were used to pelicans on jetties by now, and of course the ubiquitous seagulls. The jetty here however was frequented by pigeons, and the occasional duck.

We went back up the hill for the night. The wind had been picking up all day, but by the evening it was blowing a gale. The van was rocking and shuddering, and we considered several times whether we should move down and beg the caravan park to take us in. On a nice day this place would be fantastic, watching the sun set over the whole vista in front of us. But tonight, with the van shaking and quaking, it was a surreal experience.

GeorgeY's Bit

We sorted our fruits for quarantine then headed for Ceduna. Ceduna has a nice esplanade, a nice jetty, wide streets. From wheat farming to oyster farming, it has also a port and a marina. On paper it is fabulous; in reality it is still as hideous as my first impression of it 12 years ago.

On the way to Streaky Bay we stopped at Smoky Bay, a one streeter with a jetty. The local community here worked hard to restore the jetty and a lot of good will is evident. It is set up for fishing with comfort in mind. Even I managed to catch 2 fishes for dinner. The town is made of one Caravan Park, 5 houses and 7 yards with oyster baskets and sheds and machinery. We bought 2 dozens of the freshest and largest oysters and chucked a few for happy hour. Smoky Bay is the 'new kid on the block' holiday destination for the locals between Ceduna and Port Lincoln, and seasoned travellers crossing the Nullarbor.

To summarise, Smoky Bay, Streaky Bay and Venus Bay each have a jetty and people going fishing. Smaller places between, represented by dots on the map, have nothing. Some of these places look like people decided to go camping, then built a town, then changed their mind and left. No mobile phone reception, no television reception and no free Wi-Fi - and no one notices because they are on a jetty fishing. Elliston had a painted community hall, a tourist info centre, an RV friendly sign, and full TV reception, but the windy gale nearly ripped the antenna off the roof so I lowered it down and settled for a DVD for the night. After a night of watching "Twister's" live action I drove early to the community centre for more of the free Wi-Fi, followed by a civilised coffee and breakfast at the bakery. Finally the Tech. drought is over and civilisation is nigh.