Wrights Bay (Between Robe & Kingston) Trip

Wrights Bay (Between Robe & Kingston) Trip

9-11 March 2019 (Long Weekend)

Our much anticipated long weekend club trip began by Jim & Michele, Greg & Maria and Jim & I meeting at Tailem Bend before travelling onto Meningie for a lunch break. Wal and Kerry attempted to meet us but their vehicle, to quote Kerry, was “cooked” by the time they reached the Adelaide Hills. Disappointingly, no  long weekend away for them!

There were many travellers on the road and at Meningie. We can highly recommend the Meningie Bakery if you haven’t tasted their pastries and sweet treats before. Bakeries are always a highlight of our club trips! Along the way to Wrights Bay, we drove past pine forest plantations, vineyards and mixed farming (sheep, cattle, crops, and potato and onion farms).

Arriving at Wrights Bay campground, we set up in a sheltered section with plenty of lawn area to socialise at ‘drinks and nibbles’ time.

Wrights Bay campground is a sheltered area within walking distance to the bay and driving distance to local seaside towns and wineries. Dogs are permitted at the campground but must be on a lead at all times within the campground.  Thanks to Jim and Michele for providing additional shade and protection with their gazebo for our communal gatherings. We chatted with other campers and some of us had to play with their dogs! A family of bearded dragons decided to sun themselves near our campsite. It was interesting to see how they flatten their bodies out to obtain the maximum amount of heat on their bodies (thanks to Steve D for his words of wisdom!).

We walked over to the picturesque bay to inspect potential fishing spots. There are several reefs stretching along the coastline, so it was no surprise to us that there are many ship wrecks hidden below the surface along the coastline to Robe and beyond.

Saturday morning we drove to Boatswains Point where we found a track down to the beach.

Jim C and Greg were keen to fish from the beach, so we watched in anticipation of the big catch. Jim caught a little fish no bigger than his bait, while Greg caught an elephant shark (identified by Googling). A strange looking fish, so it was sausages for tea that night!

Jim and I came back along the beach to greet Steve, Deb and Andrew as they were arriving late Saturday morning. Over an hour later, the rest of the troops hadn’t arrived. Lea phoned Maria to see if they were catching bucket loads of fish or if they were bogged in the sand. Maria commented that Greg had done his CV joint (on the Isuzu D-Max, not his knee). Jim and Michele towed the Isuzu up the beach to the exit where Greg drove slowly back to camp in 2 wheel drive, returning with tales of their adventure. Maria made arrangements through Isuzu for a mechanic to come from Kingston (Greg was very busy doing other things). The mechanic arrived and promptly told Greg the vehicle wasn’t going anywhere!

Before tea, we walked along the beach towards Cape Jaffa while Andrew attempted to catch some fish to no avail. The weather improved with only a light breeze, so the decision was made to head off to Cape Jaffa jetty to catch some squid. A bit chilly there, but a beautiful sunset to photograph.

Andrew was fortunate enough to catch a baby squid. A pair of large stingrays cruised by, with everyone quickly removing their lines from the water. Back at camp, Steve’s nephew arrived to join us. We enjoyed another night sitting around together sharing stories with much frivolity and laughter. A late night after a few bottles of port were consumed.

Sunday morning was cooler with light showers. We all drove from our camp along a short 4wheel drive track to Long Beach continuing on to Robe for morning tea.

In the distance we could see Baudins Rocks named by Matthew Flinders after his encounter in the area with French navigator,  Nicolas Baudin. It was an easy, pleasant 12km drive on the sand.

Once in Robe, it took a while to find a café that wasn’t full of holiday makers. The girls browsed in a few shops while the boys found a café for us. Maria missed out on morning tea as she was arranging for a car tow and fix, and caravan storage (Greg was busy waiting for his large coffee).  After driving back along the beach to camp, we drove a short distance down the road to Mt Benson Winery for some wine tasting. Late in the afternoon, Liam caught a rather large flathead off the rocks at Wrights Bay. Others attempted to do the same but were disappointed in their efforts. Another jovial evening was had by all as we gathered around Steve’s wind up lantern (alas no campfires allowed in the campground!)

Monday morning everyone except Jim & Lea, packed up early in anticipation of the mechanic arriving at 9.30. He arrived at 8.30! As the Isuzu was loaded onto the truck, Maria took several photos of this momentous occasion. The caravan was hooked up to the truck and off the mechanic went to Kingston.

Jim & Michele drove Greg & Maria home, followed by Steve, Deb,  Andrew and Liam. Jim and Lea stayed on for another day before spending a few days at Beachport with friends from Mt. Gambier.

A pleasant, relaxing weekend with great company.

Thanks to Harry and Pam for suggesting the trip and making the initial booking for us.

Lea & Jim