Coffin Bay is a truly beautiful place, dedicated mostly to oysters. Kerry loved the oyster happy hour at the Beachcomber. The Bay has beautiful beaches and the seas are a brilliant turquoise. It is a bit of a rambling town which brings it a certain peace and tranquility. The western parts of the NP present beautiful views from high cliffs – we did not go into the 4WD sections of the Park.
We stayed at Coffin Bay on 25, 26 October 2018
Kerry’s snippets in fuchsia
Getting There
Streaky Bay > Coffin Bay ~ 278kms
History
The Nauo people, also spelt Nawu and Nhawu, are a First Nations people of the south-western Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The Nauo language became extinct by the twentieth century, but efforts are being made to revive it.
It is thought that, before the advent of white colonisation, the Nauo had a more northern boundary extension to Port Augusta. They were pressed to move further south by the time white settlement began, as the Barngarla First Nation people’s relocation brought pressure to bear on them from the north. At the same time, devastation came in from the south with the establishment of sealing stations along their southern coastal frontiers.
Evidence has shown that whalers had been in the area as far back as 1804. In fact, rabbits were discovered in the area as it was common practice for whalers to leave rabbits as a food supply in the case of shipwreck or meat for future visits. The whalers, together with escapees from Tasmanian prisons, kidnapped many Nauo women, beginning with raids in the first decades of the 1800s from their bases on Kangaroo Island. The violence of these early encounters may explain the hostility of the Nauo to later settlers. The Waterloo Bay Massacre, near Elliston, which is said to have taken place around 1846, is still a contentious historical issue.
British naval explorer Matthew Flinders named the bay in February 1802 in honour of his friend Sir Isaac Coffin. The same year, French explorer Nicolas Baudin provided the alternative French name of Baie Delambre.
The bay remained uncharted until explored in March 1839 by Captain Frederick Lees in the brig Nereus. Also in 1839, the Abeona landed the Hawson family in Happy Valley. They brought along about 60 Timor ponies, the ancestors of the Coffin Bay ponies. The Timor ponies were transported by Hawson to the Eyre Peninsula from the Rajah of Sumatra for breeding. The ponies have been a part of the history of the Coffin Bay area since that time and remain an issue today.
In 1966, BHP established a private railway between a site 8 kilometres south-east of the town and Port Lincoln to convey lime sands. It was closed in 1989, with the track removed in 2001. However, it wasn’t until October 2003 that boundaries were created for the locality including the town and the full extent of the Coffin Bay Peninsula.
In the 2016 Census, there were 611 people living in Coffin Bay.
Day 1 – Thu 25 Oct – To Coffin Bay
We got away just after 8, on a good bitumen road. A cool morning.
Mostly we drove through fields of golden grass, and occasionally saw large silos, so we guess this is all wheat country. At Port Kenny we are driving next to Venus Bay – we can see it down at the end of the streets as we drive through.
Driving past Lake Newland CP we had good views across to lake. It all looks very pretty – it really needs a photo point or a lookout where we can stop and have a look.
Most of the way we can see sand hills to our right, and there are lucerne fields everywhere.
We stopped at Elliston to have a quick look around and swap drivers. We focused on the historic jetty. Having a substantial jetty was always critical to Elliston as there were no roads in the district – everything went by water. The original Jetty was replaced in 1900 by the current 427 metre long structure, which was listed on the South Australian Heritage Register in 1992. It is notable because of its steel pylons which were screwed into the seabed by a horse-drawn winch. I can’t imaging how that would work.
It is a pretty beach to each side. The shearwaters kept us entertained by dropping shells onto the road so as to break the shell giving them a tasty morsel. We watched one dropping a shell quite a few times without luck. The ingenuity of these birds is breath-taking. Grab a clam from the water, fly up very high, drop it on the road (yes, the bitumen). Repeat the process until it shatters and they can eat the shellfish inside. Obviously, they do this regularly as there were shattered shells everywhere on the bitumen.
After Elliston, we could feel the headwinds – our speed dropped and the revs increased. We began to see mountains in the distance.
There are a number of lakes on the drive. First was the Round Lake then Lake Hamilton, where we stopped at a roadside parking bay to take photos.
Lake Greenly was, we think, the large white lake next to Mount Greenly. Later, Lake Wangaratta was on the left.
Driving in to Coffin Bay, our first sight was a lovely view of the green waters of the Bay. It was a nice drive along the estuary, which was well stacked with oyster frames.
We were there before lunch and went directly to the van park. It was quite a good park and we got a drive-through site near the facilities. As we checked in the receptionist told us about the oyster happy hour at Beachcombers, right next door to the Park.
We drove around town starting at the new jetty to the west. From that there are a few low rocky points and some really good beaches. But the bay does look shallow.
On the way back we saw a kangaroo hoping along the street.
That evening we went up to Beachcombers for oyster happy hour. There is quite an oyster menu to select from – natural, kilpatrick, italian, japanese and half a dozen other tempting tastes. I ordered 6 natural at $1 each, which were divine, and a glass of Sav. Blanc. I just got a beer. We started talking to some people from the van park and others joined in, so that we have a very social time.
Day 2 – Fri 26 Oct – Coffin Bay NP
Kerry had tried to get the day-pass for the NP at Beachcombers. Whilst they normally issue these, their computer lines are not working. So Kerry got the $8 day pass on line.
We stopped to check out some of the beaches at the western end of Coffin Bay. The tide is out, and there would be a long walk for a swim. But the beaches are lovely.
After we got through the registration post, we drove into the park proper. It was a short, but narrow and windy, bitumen road in. On the way we came across a number of emus. These are very funny birds. At one point at least a dozen chicks ran right across the road – no parents just a crazy dash by the little ones.
We stopped at the lookout, which is great. There is a timber walkway to the steps and a platform with some information panels about each viewing direction.
From there we took the south west bitumen road to the Golden Island and Point Avoid lookouts. On the way we stopped at an unnamed lookout that provided spectacular views to the northern side of the Point Avoid peninsular.
A bit further on we saw a track down to the beach. There was a Ford 150 (I think) ute on the track down so we parked and walked. The hold up was a 4WD and large boat on a trailer bogged in the sand. They were not going anywhere. The red ute that was blocking the road down backed up, and RACED down onto the sand. Crazy.
The fellow in the red Ford ute zoomed out onto the sand and backed in with his rear to the grounded Nissan. Between them, they dragged out a webbed strap – we assume that it was a snatch strap, but who knows – and hooked that up between the Nissan and the tow ball of the Ford. The Ford then took off and the strap broke and sprung forward to hit the back of the ute hard. Got that on video.
Then they got out a rope and that also snapped almost immediately. Then another rope. Snapped. Finally they unwound a steel cable from a winch on the Nissan, hooked that onto the Ford and it slowly hauled itself free. Got that on video – very slow video.
After all that entertainment, we walked around the beach and to view the headland. It is a lovely beach.
We next went to Almonta Beach, taking the dirt track to the parking area. There we walked over sand hills to get to see the beach – we did not walk down to the beach. This is a perfect curved beach stretching a long way to the opposite headland.
It is a short drive to Point Avoid, where there are fantastic views along the cliffs and out to the islands.
Next was the Golden Island Lookout – what a fabulous place. The Island is not too far off shore and there is a curved rock shelf that virtually reaches the Island. It is great place. The colours of the ocean here are pretty amazing, as are the extent of the rock shelves. On a fine, warm, calm day it would be fabulous to do a spot of snorkelling here.
From there we headed back but took the 4WD track to the west of the peninsular. This took us to the a spectacular lookout, looking back to Point Avoid. which looks like a snake, (definitely a dragon’s head – see the 4th photo below). To the south are two large rock outcrops, one of which had a natural window – a round hole through the rock.
After that we took the bitumen road to Yangie Bay, where the dominant feature is the campgrounds. This would be a great place to camp, right on the water. There are a few tents and caravans around the place. The bay would be perfect for kayaking – in protected calm waters, with low level hills or dunes on the edges.
We went out to the start of the 4WD track that takes you to the main Park area. We came to a clay pan, which was OK, and another beach.
If we wanted to go any further into the Park, we would have had to let our tyres down. Given the time (mid afternoon) and the fact that long distances were involved – mostly over soft sand – we did not do that.
We went back into Coffin Bay to have another look around. We revisited a beach we had walked before but were amazed at how far out the tide had taken the water. It is now a vast and lovely expanse of white sand.
Oyster farms dot the Bay.
We also went up to the lookout.
That evening we again walked up to Beachcombers for oyster happy hour. I got a beer and a bucket of prawns. Another enjoyable evening. Feeling more adventurous and certainly hungry, tonight it was half a dozen Kilpatrick and half a dozen Italian. Both absolutely delightful, but very filling. Later, back at the van, toasted sandwiches for dinner was all we could eat.
To see photos from this post, click here
To see video from this post, click here