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We left our campsite just west of Penong and headed first to see the Woolshed Museum a few km up the road. It gave us an insight into life in this area over the last century and beyond. We spent time talking to the volunteer on duty who told us that the road down to Cactus Beach has recently been graded so we decided to drive the 20km to see this iconic Australian surf beach. The road meanders through lush green farmland and then past the salt flats of Lake McDonnell that frame either side of the dirt road, one side blue and the other side a soft pink hue.
We stopped first at Port Le Hunt and were blown away with how beautiful this place is. The bay has torquoise coloured water, limestone cliffs, a long jetty and a shark net providing safe swimming (the shark net was added in the 70s following the fatal stack on an 11 year old boy by a great white shark). The bay is framed by huge white sand dunes in the distance. We decided to eat breakfast in this idyllic location and we enjoyed sitting in the sun for a while in some old leather armchairs that had been left by local surfers.
Next we headed to see the waves at Cactus Beach where we could see the left hand and right hand breaks (known as Caves and Castles). We watched local surfers doing their thing and chatted to a young American couple heading west.
Time to get a move on to Ceduna and through the quarantine station before stopping to refuel, empty the toilet and fill up on water. Quick stops at the chemist and visitor Centre and we were ready to get me some fine Ceduna oysters. Unfortunately the wonderful Oyster Bar was already closed, but luckily they also own the seafood place in town so we headed there and ordered two dozen oysters (naturale of course) and fish, chips and salad. Then we headed to the foreshore to find a table so we could watch the sunset over an early dinner (given we hadn't eaten lunch today). We drove to a lookout and accidentally took a wrong road up a cliff that was meant to be a walking path only. Gadi then had to skillfully back down the extremely narrow cliff top walkway and I have to admit to being more than a little nervous. We eventually found the lookout and a table and braved the cold to eat outside. We were rewarded with one of the most beautiful sunsets we have ever seen. Pinks and yellows spread across the cloud filled sky and a fiery orange setting sun sank low over the ocean. It was breathtaking. Sadly, we had to leave the lovely sunset so we could reach our chosen roadside campsite 6km east of town before it got dark. The sunset got even better and by the time we arrived the sky had turned hot pink and deep red behind the trees. Such a lovely way to end the day!
Time to chill out for the evening and try to have an early night. Tomorrow we continue our journey east towards Port Augusta on the Eyre Highway.
Good night xx
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