On Monday February 9th we left Adelaide and drove to Port Pirie. We drove through a whole lot of nothing! Beautiful in its own right.

Unfortunately, the place we stayed at, Travelway Motel, was less-than-desirable. It was a simple motel which was fine, but everyone smoked on the patio in front of their rooms and it wafted into our rooms. Also, it was a bit run-down and felt kind of grimy, so not a place you really wanted to spend any time other than sleeping.

It turned out to be a shorter drive than I had anticipated, but we didn’t really want to spend the afternoon hanging out at the motel. So, we had a late lunch and then did some schoolwork at the local library before going to the community pool to cool off. Port Pirie is a confusing town. It is empty and desolate while also having some really wonderful infrastructure, such as the library and beachfront area.

On Tuesday, after another day of school in the library, we walked to Solomontown Beachfront and spent a few hours swimming, sunbathing and reading. Then it was another simple dinner in town before heading back for our last night in the motel. We were all ready to move on the next day!

On Wednesday, February 11th, we were back in the car, this time for a longer drive to Port Lincoln. We stopped in Cowell for lunch and came across a unique public bathroom–an art gallery! Very fun.

We stayed in Port Lincoln for four nights, at a nice apartment that felt like a relief after our last place! Port Lincoln is a larger town, right on the waterfront, with a cute downtown and a few fun things to do nearby. On Thursday morning, Steffen and I walked over to the Port Lincoln Visitor Information Centre to gather some more info. This town is known for its shark cage diving which Steffen has now put on his bucket list, but we did not do during this visit. It is very pricey and somewhat scary. 😉

That afternoon the girls and I walked to the town jetty area where there is a “pool” in the ocean where people can swim safely away from the sharks. Unfortunately it was a bit too cold to swim so we continued our walk to the old mill. Then we went back into town for some playground time and ice cream. Then that evening we all went for a drive to the Winter Hill Lookout and then down to the marina for a glimpse of the cages used for shark diving. Port Lincoln is home to the largest commercial fishing fleet in the Southern Hemisphere so the marina is quite important.

On Friday, Hannah, Charlotte, Olivia and I went to the Glen-Forest Tourist Park for some fun interactions with wildlife. We fed kangaroos and birds, cuddled bunnies and guinea pigs, watched koalas sleep (what they are best at) and walked through fields with llamas and sheep. It was a very fun and relaxing afternoon.

On Saturday we went on a mission to see some of the beautiful nature near Port Lincoln. We started in Lincoln National Park with a stop at Stamford Hill for a wade in the water and a short hike for some incredible views.

From there we drove to Sleaford Bay where there were amazing sand dunes that the kids loved! Perfect for running and sliding and jumping.

And then we spent some time driving along Whaler’s Way, taking in some incredible views. We thought that we could swim at the first stop, but the ladder and path down to the swimming hole was way too sketchy for us! So we just drove along the peninsula and enjoyed the gorgeous landscape.

The following day, Sunday February 15th, was the beginning of our long drives where five out of six days are driving days through the infamous Nullarbor Plain. More on that soon! But a quick look at Steffen’s impressive packing skills. Don’t ask how we are going to consolidate all that to fit back into our carry-ons for our next plane ride….