Ceduna and Smoky Bay

When we were up in the Kimberley we stopped looking at the weather because it was virtually the same every day. As we moved into the Pilbara we started checking it a bit, mainly to see what the wind was doing, but as we've travelled further south we've been looking at a range of weather apps with greater frequency. After a couple of cooler days across the eastern end of the Nullarbor there was more heat forecast, and then rain. We booked three nights at Ceduna to cover the heat wave.

We went for a short walk the first afternoon, but it was quite windy and not very pleasant.

We had a much more enjoyable walk at sunset.

The main attraction in Ceduna, apart from the jetty, is the seafood, and particularly the oysters. We were a little bit late and they'd started cleaning for the afternoon, so couldn't shuck our oysters, but Dazz wasn't phased at learning a new skill. I did tell him he couldn't use an axe, though, like he did on the beach at Cape Keraudren. I also told him he couldn't use my good kitchen knives because I didn't want the tips broken. So after trying a few other sub-optimal instruments I reminded him of his recent find at a rest area on the Nullarbor. He had gone for a wander in the bush and came back with a dagger... so of course it went in the tool box. One never knows when a dagger might come in handy. And here we were, just days later, when the now cleaned up dagger became known as "The shucking dagger"!

Although it was still rather warm outside, I said that we had to eat our seafood with a view of the water. Dazz sprayed a bit of water around to cool things down and put our chairs and table in the small amount of shade that was left as the sun came around. The view was more of a glimpse through the cars and vans, but it had a lot more of a beach feel than sitting inside the van...

After we finished our seafood entree we retreated back inside to the air conditioning for the rest of dinner! We did come out again for a walk along the jetty once it had cooled off in the evening.

The heat on the coast passed with a wind change, but it was still mid 30s inland for another day, with rain forecast after that. We wanted to go up to the Gawler Ranges, but not in the heat or the wet, so we went down to Smoky Bay for two nights. It was windy the whole time, and a few lines of storms came across, giving Dazz another opportunity for a lightning shot.

We had seen some little birds one of the days we walked along the beach, but didn't have binoculars or a camera, so we weren't sure what they were. We went back down to the beach on our last morning after leaving the caravan park and snapped a the male and female Red-capped Plover, with a small flock of juvenilles.