DAY 64 - COFFIN BAY SA

COFFIN BAY SA

DAY 64

PORT LINCOLN – COFFIN BAY

48.83 km

Total Time: 10.00 – 13.30 (3h 30m)

Time on Bike: 2h 45m 04s

Max. Speed: 69.2 km/h

Av. Speed: 17.7 km/h


Surprises continue as the Eyre Peninsula’s western coast awaits.

My tenure in Port Lincoln has come to an end and it is to my hosts I am greatly indebted – Raylene and Kingsley for having me stay in their home and also to Jeff for the recumbent kinship as well as tour guide duties yesterday.

I have now made way to the small but pristine settlement of Coffin Bay and from here will commence the northward journey towards Ceduna, including a series of pit stops along the western coastline of Eyre Peninsula.

The ride out of Port Lincoln this morning was accompanied by Jeff and Raylene, supposedly only as far as the Cummins turn off about 25 kilometres along the way.

First stop though, was the Winters Hill summit for some photo snaps and final look down at the town of Lincoln from Eyre Peninsula’s highest vantage point.

Just in nick of time too.

Barely having returned our cameras to their pouches, a massive blanket of low slung sea fog rolled in from the north, shrouding the town completely within a matter of minutes.

With the fog’s inclement, black tentacles making haste towards us on the mountain summit and the town beneath temporarily removed from the face of the planet, it was time to start making our own haste down the other side of the hill and onwards into the morning.

As to plan, my cycle buddies rode the interim distance before terminating their ride at the Cummins junction and we bade each other farewell.

I was in Coffin Bay and pitching shortly after 1.30 pm and no sooner was joined by those same 2 I had last seen at the Cummins junction just over an hour previously.

This apparent change of heart was but only the first of surprises for the afternoon, as it so happened that Raylene’s husband Kingsley had also made the journey to Coffin Bay separately by car.

Now Kingsley has something of a reputation as one of the world’s great Barbeque Kings and he was not in the mood to allow this to slip today.

My only responsibility at this point was to attend to shower details and get myself down to the town’s picnic area AQAP.

A Kingsley Barbeque by definition, leaves nothing to chance and it was indeed a comprehensive affair.

A full-blooded serving of steak and salad was on the board, to be washed down only with a buffet of wines, beers and softies.

Steak is not a regular on my priority list, but this was not an occasion to be at my picky best.

There was plenty going about to even leave some to spare - everything being topped by a compilation dishing of fruit, custard and cream with bevvies still flowing until the end.

By 4 pm, I was finally back on my own, full as a shoe and with the best share of 36 hours to explore Coffin Bay, consume more oysters and, if some overdue good fortune comes my way, jig some fresh local catch from the big, beautiful bay.

The designated “Oyster Trail” walkway kept me occupied for the period up to and beyond sundown, with some delicious photography subject along Coffin’s shorelines and my blog will certainly be the better for it.