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It's always a pleasure visiting this location at Elliston Newfoundland. It is even better when you get a sunset like this. One of the best coastlines around.

📸 by @gord_follett_photography

#@gord_follett_photography #Elliston #Newfoundland and Labrador #Canada #Nature #Landscape Photography #Newfoundland #Coastlines #Sunset

Paris Mountain Road, Elliston, Virginia.

#Elliston #Montgomery County (Virginia)#Virginia

Elliston SA, 2025 website / instagram / blog

#elliston #SA #australia

Elliston SA, 2025 website / instagram / blog

#elliston #SA #australia

Friday 6th February 2026

Our 2 nights were up in Elliston and following precise instructions prescribed to us by our landlady, we evacuated our chalet leaving it in a condition she might have dreamt off; clean, devoid of rubbish and rubbish bags, towels in the shower, air-conditioning off, appliances unplugged, and lights off. Doors locked and we were not longer a liability to her. All she needed to do was bank the money! Perhaps rather late in the day, we called into the tourist information place in Elliston for a few ideas for our journey to our next destination, Coffin Bay, at the bottom of the Eyre Peninsula. We noticed that there was an old cemetery associated with this place, way out on a wild and woolly headland, and being on our way out, we thought we ought to pay our respects to the departed. A more desolate location might be hard to find. There were purported to be some quite influential folk of their time whiling their eternity in there. Sadly it was very overgrown and neglected. Martine slowly making her way across the scrub grass felt something move under feet and emit an alarming hiss. A large, fat lizard called a Shingleback lizard was snarling up at her. About a foot long, fat, stubby tail, large pink open mouth and tongue, surrounded by needle sharp dental work. The are omnivors feeding mainly on plants, insects and snails. Given the choice of fight or flight, it chose the former, Martine chose the latter. Leaving the cemetery and its guardian and wishing him well, we stopped at a memorial to the victims of the Waterloo Bay massacre in 1849. I would guess it was the old story of pioneers overreacting to having spears thrown at them by aborigines. As a result, many of the indigenous population were killed. This monument was to go some way to recognise this tragedy.

We rejoined the Eyre Highway which was to take us all the way to Coffin Bay, our home for the next 4 nights. Our route took us along the stunning coastline and our first call was to Locks Well Beach. The biggest challenge to the settlers here in this region, but also further afield in Australia is of course lack of a fresh water supply. Elliston was drinking rainwater saved in vast tanks by each house. Even this does not keep pace with rainfall versus water usage. One place we came through had had virtually no rain since last August! Some have had to have water delivered to refill their tanks. Although part of this region is wheatbelt, there are also immense areas where it is so dry, it is a truly hostile environment, where nothing will grow, and there is little sign of wildlife except perhaps the resilient Shingleback lizards. Lock tried his luck at a digging a well, but it didn't succeed. We followed the track to the rugged cliffs and a lookout. The coast here is absolutely stunning, with rocky outcrops, waves pounding into hidden coves, with secluded sandy beaches. And the coastline is like this all the way down the peninsula. It is beautiful in the extreme. The main problem is access to these beaches. We tried to reach Sheringa beach, but we had to traverse a 4 mile unsealed road, which was fine for the first mile; hardened compacted gravel, but under storm conditions this can be easily washed away. The rest of the road had been hardened and ridges applied across the carriageway causing violent shaking and vibration, such that we feared important components might fall off the Toyota. Some hardened 4WD drivers let their tyres down to 16 psi to make the ride smoother. We took the other easy solution, we turned back thinking our rental company would not approve of this sort of mileage!

Carrying on further down Flinders, we came to the Lake Hamilton Eating House. This was a lovely old stone croft style building built some time before 1857 and used as an eating house until the 1880s by travellers coming through in horse drawn coaches, along what would have been an extremely arduous rough track. Opposite is Lake Hamilton; a beautiful but useless lake since it is salt and no use for drinking. Our destination was getting closer, but one more destination was necessary; a memorial to a 21 year old, Leo Cummings who died tragically in 1959 on a crayfish expedition. All other lives were saved thankfully. The memorial was at a pinnacle overlooking the sea that ultimately killed Leo, high up and commanding such fantastic views in all directions, with the salt lakes inland.

We made it eventually to our latest shack in Coffin Bay. Coffin Bay reflects so many of the small towns we have come across so far on the peninsula, from Ceduna, downwards. It seems developers are eyeing them up as opportunities to buy old shacks and replace them with waterfront villas for tourists. These places are sadly destined to change and the nature of the quiet backwaters they currently are, will instead be desirable resorts attracting loads of holiday makers. Hopefully this will not happen too soon.

A schooner or two at the yacht club, and it was home for dinner and SB.

We shall enjoy it here I feel.

ps. 4 kangaroos have just hopped past our house.

RIP Len Cadby.

His funeral at home is today at 13.00. We shall raise a glass to my much loved uncle tonight.

The Shingleback lizard or Tiliqua rugosa

The Lake Hamilton Eating House

The rather short jetty in Coffin Bay

Kangaroo outside pur house tonight

#6th February 2026 #Coffin Bay #Shingleback lizard #Elliston

Thursday 5th February 2026

Update on impression of town. Hold the front page. Although our little crossroads are fairly quiet by anyone's standards, I have to take exception to a huge refrigerated truck sitting with everything running for 20 mins at 5.40am, outside the Friendly Grocer, which I would protest is anything but friendly! Opinions can change on issues like that.

My run this morning took me along a most agreeable beach in the beautiful setting, of Waterloo Bay. That doesn't seem to have much of a bacon link either for that matter. The extent of my run was Jetty 5. There was a disappointed, unsuccessful squid fisherman there who showed me an empty bucket, empty apart from an expressionless 100mm anonymous green fish, formerly known as bait. Waterloo Bay has something of a reputation and the Jetty certainly plays a role in this. As a landing stage it is as good as it comes. It is the longest Jetty we have seen so far, however if its siren voices should lure ships in, then first they need to negotiate with some skill, the barrier that stretches a good way beneath the surface of the waves, almost from one headland to the other. A skill not all ships navigators have displayed over the years despite the guidance beacons that were erected in the late 1800s to 1937. Take for instance the Freebridge 1877, the Fanny Wright 1877, the Spindrift 1881, the Waratah 1884, the Alto 1888, and the SS Ferret 1914. All these have failed to find safe passage through extremely difficult waters into the calm safety of the bay, and sunk in trying.

We sat and ate our lunch contemplating those in peril on the seas, as well as the dangerous waters Kier Starmer now finds himself in.

So, having walked to Wellington Point to the left of the bay, after lunch we took a gentle stroll along Jetty 5. For many years, surprisingly until the 1950s, if you wanted to get goods in or out of Elliston, they had to come by sea, and they needed to negotiate the almost impossible entrance, fighting wind and tide. The Flinders Highway, of course, has sped to the rescue; opening first in 1938, but as quite a rough unsealed track. By 1973 quite a lot was sealed, but it was not until 1978 the Highway was completed from Ceduna to Port Lincoln and giving the 333 population of Elliston a completely safe and convenient route to fairly nearby towns. Also allowing greater export opportunities for the locally grown wheat, which previously had to taken laboriously down to ships by horse and cart.

ps. We took a look in the Friendly Grocer supermarket, and with just one member of staff there, I asked her she was indeed the Friendly Grocer mentioned above the door. I try to be she answered.

pps. Our landlady has labelled everything she thinks might be left in an unsatisfactory state when we leave. We have 10 such labels in a very small area!

Ships would have to go through the gap where there are no breakers

Jetty 5

The wheat silos

#5th February 2026 #Elliston

Wednesday 4th February 2026

We were so sorry to leave our little chalet by the beach. I went for a walk along the shore at sunrise. The tide was slowly draining away and I scrunched along a long causeway composed of small and minute shells; the inspiration no doubt for the name of the place, Shelly Bay. The strong offshore breeze of last night had gone completely, leaving the air completely still, the sea with a mirror finish and the little boat ploughing up and down laying nets sending it's low chugs across the entire bay, from shore to shore. The sea birds images doubling their numbers. The sandbanks peeping through the disappearing waters seeming like an Archipelago of miniature islands by proportion. This was such a special and perfect place with so few people here, we didn't want to give it up; we could live here! But we only booked two nights, and we had a journey ahead of us.

I think this chapter ought to be entitled 'Jetty's what I have seen'. On leaving the best place in the universe, we popped into Ceduna to top up the supplies and also view the jetty. For the sake of clarity, we shall call this one Jetty 1. This one is 380 metres long, pretty impressive and particularly good for fishing from.

After filling up with petrol, we set off for our first stop of the day, Smoky Bay, just a few miles south of Ceduna, and from where my oysters last night were farmed. We shall call this one Jetty 2. The jetty was originally 381 metres in length and was completed in 1912. Great for catching squid and King George whiting. In fact while we were there a man with a fishing rod said his wife had sent him out to catch squid. It would be a brave man to return without any. Having the advantage over Ceduna jetty by 1 metre, it was reduced by 88 metres in 1969, due to maintenance costs. The settlement at Smoky Bay was extremely fetching, and very empty. We had luncheon there and I think I counted 12 people in all. On our stroll to the end of the jetty we saw quite a sizeable Ray fish in the shallow waters close to shore.

Our next stop along our route to Elliston, further down the Eyre Peninsula, was Streaky Bay, and Jetty 3. This one, completed in the late 1880s is 340 metres in length, which is now in second place. Streaky Bay is another quiet little place, but in line with its Jetty, was an older town with some very fine colonial style buildings.

Now, these towns were surveyed by Matthew Flinders on his circumnavigation of Australia. He must have had breakfast on his mind as he sailed down the peninsula, first naming Smoky, then Streaky. Clearly bacon was up there in his thoughts, so imagine our confusion when we reached the next Jetty, number 4, and it is Venus Bay. I'm struggling to make a connection. However, it is a fine, but shorter jetty. Flinders came ashore here in 1801, and a town was built in the 1850s and originally called Parkin. A vessel called Venus was soon trading wool, wheat and carrying passengers and it is thought this might be the inspiration for the name change to Venus in the 1940s. I am assured the length for the jetty is just 100 metres. As we drove out of Venus, and gathering speed back to the Flinders Highway, a kangaroo hopped across the road before us, qualifying as the first kangaroo of the trip, and very nearly the first kangaroo casualty.

We continued our journey to Elliston, our destination for the next two nights, and on our way in, we spotted Jetty 5. This jetty is clearly the show-off romping in at 427 metres, clearly the winner of the day, and completed in 1900. Feelings are mixed regarding Elliston. Falling far short of our previous accommodation. Things may improve on closer inspection tomorrow. We find ourselves in a Motel format on a far from busy crossroad, opposite the shop named the Friendly Grocer. Only time will tell just how friendly he is!

ps. There are 75 jettys in the region. I can't be expected to examine them all!

pps. Temperatures soared to 39 degrees as the sea breezes dropped.

ppps. Martine and I met 21 years ago today