Driving towards Whyalla the first thing you see in the distance is the steelworks. The land is flat and scrubby so the large steelworks stands out. A couple of kilometres from the town brings the unusual sight of a ship (HMAS Whyalla) "moored" on the side of the road several kilometres from the sea. This is the visitor's centre which I dropped into to find out the places to see in Whyalla and beyond.

I decided to stay in the Foreshore caravan park near the centre of town. A good park right on a beach but unfortunately the wind was blowing onshore for most of the night and was shaking the van around. I hate windy places-I find I get irritable when it's windy?

The next morning was nice and calm so I set off on the bike to explore. The marina is not far from the park and is a popular spot for fisherman to launch their boats and clean their catch when they come back. While I was there a couple of blokes were cleaning a nice catch of Snapper which they'd spent the previous 3 hours catching. A couple of fish were huge at around the 11kg (24 pound) mark. These fish apparently pulled their boat around during the fight. I can see why fishing is so popular in the Spencer Gulf.

Above the marina is the hummock lookout. As I said previously, the land is quite flat so any decent hill gives you a good unimpeded view. The Hummock is an old WW2 gun (cannon) emplacement. My immediate thought was why would anyone want to invade Whyalla but in actual fact Whyalla, with it's steelworks and ship building, was considered a good target for any Japanese bombing.

Riding down the hummock and through the town I revisited the visitors centre to have a look at the maritime museum. They've done a good job on preserving something from the considerable shipbuilding that once occurred in Whyalla. I was most interested in the section dealing specifically with BHP merchant shipbuilding as I've sailed on several Whyalla built ships and my ship for the last 5 years (the Iron Monarch) was built in Whyalla. There is a lifebuoy and lifejacket from the Iron Carpentaria plus several models of the ships built in Whyalla. The collection also includes a mannequin wearing the standard BHP seagoing uniform (apparently it's the standard uniform. Maybe I should give them a pair of my trackydacks to put on display?).

There is a particularly accurate model of the Iron Monarch complete with Straddle truck going up the stern ramp. It doesn't say by whom or why this model was made (I'm annoyed I didn't ask) but it's very well done. It's often been said the Monarch is a museum piece but it was interesting to see it actually is!

The story behind the HMAS Whyalla was also of interest. This was the first ship ever built in Whyalla so when the ship was put out of service, the Whyalla council bought it. The ship was steamed from Port Phillip where it had been involved with harbour work (navigation aids maintenance?) under the name of "Rip". It was then, with some difficulty, dragged (unlaunched) back up the slipway from where it was built. It was then taken overland 2km to its current position on the back of a very large trailer. The ship has been refurbished back to what it was more or less like as a navy fighting ship.

I went on the guided tour through the HMAS Whyalla. I was the only person on that tour which was good as I had the undivided attention of the guide. The ship is small and spartan which is interesting as it had a complement of 70. Don't know how they all fitted onboard?

Of the 66 odd ship buildings at Whyalla, I've now been on the first and the last ships built there (there were two more barges built in Whyalla after the last ship was built). The Monarch and several other Whyalla built ships are also still trading. There would be a lot of people testify that the Whyalla ships were well built and strong ships. I'm sure a lot of people would be glad to see that the efforts at Whyalla shipyard have been remembered via this museum.

Whyalla has the significance for me as being the first port I visited on a ship (in 1985). For several of my visits as a cadet, I also remember big nights and even bigger hangovers. One of the places to go to was "The Sundowner" hotel (aka "The Scumdowner"). I dropped in for a beer but was disappointed to see the place full of pokies. The bar lady said they didn't have live bands there anymore either. Pity.

Another good spot was the "Grab-a-granny" nights at the Whyalla Workers club. The lights would get progressively dimmer as the night (and alcohol) wore on. This place has closed down now unfortunately. I also remember the Centrals football club being big on Sunday nights. Alas, this also is a thing of the past.

I decided to venture into the "Hotel Spencer" later that night. This place was always quite dead with only the 8-ball competition giving it a glimmer of life the night I was there. They do have bands but, again, not the night I was there. The "Bay view" just up the street a bit, however, was nearly terminal and I had the place just about to myself. The large plate of Shepherds pie I ate there in the "Pig Iron bar" was good though (and only $5.50!).

I was told "The Eyre" hotel was the place where the young idiots hang out. This sounded promising-maybe some young idiot females might be there? Unfortunately, it must have been 8-ball night in Whyalla as that was the only action at "The Eyre" with no sign of any young idiot females. I decided to call it a night. At least I wasn't going to have a hangover.

Driving down the Lincoln highway after leaving Whyalla, I briefly stopped at Cowell then stopped again at Tumby bay for some lunch. Down near the tip of the Eyre Peninsula lies Port Lincoln. Port Lincoln is known for fishing and large great white sharks.

I was headed a bit further on from Port Lincoln to Coffin bay. I liked the sound of Coffin bay. The name conjures up rather morbid, deathly images but in fact Coffin Bay is named after Sir Isaac Coffin whom was a friend of Mathew Flinders. I was a bit disappointed to find that out.

I checked out the caravan park in Coffin bay then headed into the Coffin bay national park about 15km further down the road. I stayed at Yangie bay campground which sounded much better in the brochure. The lookout at sunset wasn't too bad though. Yangie bay is at the end of the 2WD track with 4WD tracks extending much further into the park. I didn't bother going any further as it was getting late in the day and didn't feel like any stressful rough roads.

The next day I had a look at Point Avoid and Garden Is lookout. Whilst at Garden Is lookout I went for a walk along Almonta beach and met a bloke whom was spinning off the beach. While I looked on he caught 5 large salmon from 5 casts. Not bad but I wasn't in the mood for fishing for some reason.

I went back along the road to Coffin bay and checked into the caravan park. The town of Coffin bay is very small with one shop, sailing club and pub. It's really a holiday town with numerous shacks and holiday homes for rent. The town's main drawcard is it's Oysters which I didn't try but probably should have. I did have a swim off the beach as it was warm day. The water wasn't near as warm but pleasant all the same.

The west side of Eyre Peninsula is more exposed to the southern ocean hence big swells. Locks Well beach sits at the bottom of a steep cliff accessed by a large wooden staircase. Some good surf was breaking but the sign saying "no swimming-large undertow" put doubts into my mind about having a surf. It didn't worry a couple of other blokes whom went out while I was there. Locks well is reputed to be a reliable Salmon fishing spot but again I didn't have a go.

It was only midday so I drove further up the road to Elliston. Elliston is even smaller than Coffin bay but I believe some land sales and development are planned for the area. I filled up with fuel there (at the bargain price of $1.72/litre) and had a look at the heritage listed jetty. I couldn't see why it would be heritage listed but couldn't help notice some large fish cruising around the jetty. Again I didn't get the rod out. There is a Cliff top drive not far from Elliston which isn't bad and also has some "artwork" placed along the way for no apparent reason or explanation. The natural scenery was of more interest with interesting cliffs meeting the sea.

Walker's rocks is about 12km out of Elliston and is where I chose to spend the night. My choice was based on I had heard it was only $5 a night. It turned out to be $7 and was quite crowded. There must be a lot of other cheapskates out there too! I decided I would break the rod out here and went for a walk along the beach for a fish. I fished to dark but only got a few tiddlers. b*****-I really should have had a fish in those other places I saw that had fish!

Going along on a drive you have never been on before is good, as everything is new. A bad aspect is that you don't really know what the camp sites are like until you get there. You can read the notes about the campsites and talk to other people whom have been to the campsite you are going to but you never really know what it's like until you get there. I have also found it hard to put my finger on why I like some campsites and why I dislike others?

The next day's first stop was Port Kenny for a quick butchers' then onto Murphy's Haystacks. Murphy's Haystacks are an interesting collection of granite rising incongruously out of the surrounding farmland. The name, according to the sign, comes from an expert pastoralist whom was touring the area and extolling the virtues of harrowing the land. Upon sighting these rocks in the distance he mistakenly made a remark to his party, whom was travelling with him, that the farmer there must of "made good use of the harrow" to have such a store of hay for his stock. As the land was owned by a chap named Murphy, the rocks became known as Murphy's' haystacks. This name then, is an early example of taking the piss. It also shows how people tend to remember your mistakes but not necessarily your achievements.

Streaky bay is yet another pleasant seaside town on this coast. This town was the setting, apparently, for the 1970's movie "Blue Fin" (by Colin Thiele?). The bay is quite sheltered and reputably contains a lot of fish. It also is the place where a record breaking Great White shark was caught by rod and reel. The dimensions, if I remember rightly, were a weight of 1520kgs and a length of 5.4m. A replica of the shark is contained (oddly) in the Shell roadhouse in town.Swimming is not encouraged at Streaky bay.

I was hoping to pull into one of a couple of campgrounds not far from Streaky bay but they were both rather full looking. I decided to carry on 30km or so to Smoky bay and checked into the Caravan Park. Nice spot on the beach where I did have a quick swim. The swim was quick due to the water being rather cold and I was also thinking of the giant shark caught just down the road.

Oysters seem to be quite an industry in Smoky bay too. I observed a steady stream of large barges being launched then proceeding out to the oyster beds with a heavy load of oyster racks onboard. When they returned, the whole barge was put on a trailer and towed by tractor back to the factory to be reloaded with oyster racks again. What got my attention was the fact that these large barges were getting up on the plane when loaded and heading to the oyster racks. Quite impressive for such a large looking craft. My little boat (the "Redundancy spirit") struggles to get on the plane with only four people onboard.

The Smoky bay caravan park has an interesting water saving method in place. The shower block has dreary country music piped in assaulting your ears the whole time reducing any urge to linger in the shower. The music doesn't, however, mask any of the cacophony of explosive noises coming from the toilet cubicles. I have often found myself immaturely sniggering in my cubicle and doing my very best to add to the orchestra of noise.

Driving out of Smoky bay with a Slim Dusty tune stuck in my head (and a strange desire to save water) it was a only a short while before I was in Ceduna. Ceduna is a service town for the surrounding farmlands. Nearby Thevenard has a large collection of Grain silos and a loading wharf. I have visited Thevenard on a few occasions on a ship loading Gypsum for Melbourne. I seem to remember on my previous visits a plaque next to a plough, situated near the wharf, which stated Ceduna was the birthplace of the Stump jump plough. I couldn't find the plough on this occasion however.

Ceduna is the point where the road from the Eyre Peninsula meets the Eyre highway which is part of Australia's highway 1. This, therefore, marks the end of the Eyre Peninsula and the start of the road across the Nullarbor plains. It is about 500km back to Port Augusta, via the direct route, and still another 500km to the WA border. Still a long way to go….