The pack up at Coffin Bay began early for Rose and Dave who were rustling around before the rest of us – Rosie determined to repair the dust covers for the bikes AGAIN – this time with the blue painters tape usually reserved for covering the vents and cracks before hitting the dirt roads….. We all struggled somewhat as it was raining so packing up was not as pleasant as normal!

As we only had just over an hour’s drive to Sheringa Beach, Trev cooked his gourmet berry and banana pancakes for everyone for brekkie. We then finished packing, and left the caravan park to drive just up the road for a barista coffee due to the fact we could not get into the beach camp til 12 and there was no coffee shop between Coffin Bay and Sheringa…..

After driving up the highway for about an hour, we turned onto Sheringa Beach Road – an unsealed road out to the campground which was in pretty good condition – just a few corrugations….that did play a bit of havoc in a van or two….. Branch was kept in the dark by some of the crew but I am sure all will come to light after a bit of snooping around!

On the way out the huge sandhills of Sheringa came in to view – massive silky golden drifts intertwined with green shrubs – the Eyre Peninsula seems to be home to many Sahara like sandscapes….

The rain had stopped but it was still overcast and windy – the campground at Sheringa was great! Hard level sites easy to access right on the beach but protected by shrubbery. The amenities had a couple of outdoor showers and a flushing toilet (very unusual in a “free camp” ) which were clean and well maintained by Elliston Council.

Gordie exhibited expert parking (as assessed by Branch) by touch parking the Lotus to ensure his fencing was as tight as a drum!!

The beach was wild with the wind but still stunning with white sand and the backdrop of the sandhills, and rugged cliffs at each end.

A quick walk determined that the surf was a bit blown out so Gordie hopped into the Titan and drove the short distance over the point to the other part of Sheringa….he came back hugely excited as the surf was AMAZING….. waves 6- 8 foot and no one on them!! A couple of guys were surfing closer to the point, but Gordie was keen to surf the centre area…. We decided to go down to watch….and take some pics. It was still windy and overcast and no one wanted Gordie out there on his own.

The surf was indeed big and we all watched the surfers get some great waves…. A friendly campers pup made friends with Rosie and loved coming and annoying me while I was trying to take pics of Gordie in the surf….

Kerry was much relieved when Gordie and board came in in one piece – he decided to go for one more wave but the swell was too powerful and Gordie was by this time a bit spent…. So he changed his mind and came back in…

Gordie got changed – Klaus “supervising” somewhat……and we headed back to camp for an afternoon walk on the other beach.

Just before dinner the sun came out and the dunes shone like gold! A beautiful rainbow arched across the bay to the headland – magnificent! The sun began to set and we raced up to the headland for some spectacular sunset views!!

My toe was looking worse again with all the walking…..

That night revealed a different Sheringa Beach….it was a place of wild things that came out after dark!! Huge spiders carrying a myriad of babies on their backs, big scorpions under the Wells and Weiss vans, a large wolf spider enjoying the Hunter’s outdoor mat….and tiny native mice jumping around the place – on the Hunters Engel sampling the oyster leftovers…..on our chairs….don’t leave the van at night without boots on and a good torch!!