We absolutely loved our time in the Yorke Peninsula and in particular, Innes National Park. We ‘planned’ to stay two nights to explore the park and for Guilherme to get some surf before we headed up north. Once we organised ourselves at the information centre and drove the fifteen minutes to our campgrounds, we (Guilherme) set up our tent so we could enjoy some space while we had the chance. To tell you the truth, I kinda missed the camper bed! Shortly after setting up camp, we realised our power had blown which initially made me feel a little anxious but then I decided to embrace the detox and what was going to be our backyard for the next three days. It wasn’t hard at all as the park has so much to offer and the weather was kinder to us. Traveling during off-peak season has its perks too, like having the entire campground to ourselves which meant we got to pick the biggest/best site and our toilet facilities were super clean…if only all drop-hole toilets were of the same superior class!
We woke up early the next day and set off to check out the surf. Pondalowie Bay (Pondi) was a lot of fun and Guilherme enjoyed a two hour surf session. We met some awesome locals who gave Guilherme some great tips for ‘sick’ surf within the park.
Chinaman’s Hat was the first recommendation and we were told the high quality reef break offered generous barrels. So off we went to check it out and thankfully it didn’t disappoint. The waves reminded Guilherme of ‘Pedra Branca’ in Ericeira. It was just Guilherme and two other guys from Adelaide surfing so he got in a good quality session. The surf conditions here won Guilherme’s heart and he’s since awarded it the best surf he’s had in Australia!
Completely impressed, we decided to stay a third night and Guilherme enjoyed two more sessions the next day. It was really enjoyable to be a spectator too and to chat with a few other surfers and spectators alike. People loved that Guilherme was from Portugal. Unsurprisingly, they all knew about the waves of Peniche and Ericeira and a few had been over to surf. I also met one lady who frequents Sri Lanka for the surf there!
In addition to our great human encounters, I was so happy to finally see a few dolphins, a seal and an emu passing by in the dunes behind us. Guilherme being extra lucky because he was surfing the waves with dolphins and seals – luckily no sharks (that he could see)! Still no whales though…although we were told that one had passed by 1 hour after we had left on day 1!
Two surf sessions each day meant that we started eating ‘linner’ (not quite lunch/not quite dinner). It was a nice change from cooking and eating by camp-light. Each night the sun set and we were graced by the nightly star spectacular – featuring the unforgettable milky way! I really wish I could take a picture of the night skies here…it’s ridiculously amazing and nothing like what I’ve seen before! I remember when I was a kid, we used to play dot-to-dot with the stars…this would have been the ideal sky for it!
We managed to get a little history in too. Visitng the historic Inneston Village, we learned about the old gypsum-mining era of the early 1900’s which lasted until the great depression. It was home to around 200 people and you can still see the ruins of the school, post office, cottages and gypsum processing factory. Gypsum is what chalk is made of and apparently if you went to school in Australia in the 1980’s, your chalk probably came from Inneston!
History aside, we got back into our car and headed out of the park to Daly Head. Daly head is home to another surf spot, Salmon Head but after the 40 minute drive there we went for a beautiful walk and headed back to Chinaman’s Hat for what seemed to be guaranteed surf.
By the end of Guilherme’s surf tour, we knew most of the other surfers; who was visitng, who was local and I even shocked myself when, on my way back to the car, I started giving advice about the surf conditions to one of the locals, “Guilherme’s just finishing up…the sets are coming in pretty slow now, I reckon Pondi might be better”! FYI – His response, “I reckon you might be right”!
I almost forgot to mention our encounter with Herb! We met Herb when we went to check out the fishing village within the park. It was a desolated little strip and Herb waved to us so I decided we should stop and have a little chat. After introducing ourselves he proceeded to call us Herb and Herbette as he’s no good with names. I told him about our trip and that we were staying at the Pondi campsite. Herb lives in Port Lincoln and the shack is his holiday house. He made sure that we took down his address in Port Lincoln so that we could call in on our way back from WA, offering accommodation there and at his mate’s place in Adelaide. He then further welcomed us by inviting us over for tea (dinner) the next evening and to check out some of his old album collections of beached whales and turtles AND he also offered us accommodation and a camp fire which I thought was so kind of him and was super keen to enjoy some local hospitality (and fresh squid) but in the back of my mind I did see ‘wolf creek’ alarm bells and I knew that Guilherme was probably not as keen as I was. We left, telling him that we would let him know if we could make tea as our plans weren’t certain. Even so, he said we were welcome to pop in and out of his place at any time during the rest of our stay. Heading back to our campsite, I was made aware that telling a complete stranger where we were staying and accepting such hospitality was breaking the number one rule of the trip! Oops. In my defense however, when I asked the friendly lady at the information desk about Herb, she said that if it was the Herb she knew, he was harmless and very hospitable!
Great people, perfect surf, an impressive array of wildlife and nature, we left Yorke Peninsula and our feeling of being like Adam and Eve with a promise to return again.
G&T on Trail 
Great blog! Lots of details and memories. Thanks for sharing. Hope to bump into you both again somewhere on the circuit…..
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It was great bumping into your beautiful family again…and again! Looking forward to reading Tehmi’s blog! Enjoy some more ice cream/icy poles for us 🙂
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