Sunday, August 8, 2010
Great Aussie Adventure - Day 11
This morning was sunny and cold in Kadina, for the first day of winter in Australia (June 1st). After turning around and finally heading in the right direction, I ended up in Port Bonython which is on the Eyre Peninsula. (I left the Yorke Peninsula after spending all of yesterday on that one!) Port Bonython is a tiny town (if town is the right word - what’s smaller than a town? A village?) Anyway, this place is SMALL, but cute, I think the fisherman are what keep the town in business, well them and the refinery right there. But Port Lowly Lighthouse is here, so I stopped.
It’s a cute lighthouse and you can see where they added onto it in 1909 in the first photo above. Originally, built in 1883, it was 14 meters (45 feet) tall and fuelled by kerosene. The two cottages, also built in 1883, were for the light keepers, who manned the lighthouse for 90 years between 1883 and 1973. But in 1902, a ship ran ashore at Douglas Point so the tower was raised by 8 meters (25 feet). In 1973, this lighthouse was converted to electric and demanned. It was again upgraded in 1983, but turned off in 1993 by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority as it believed the lighthouse was no longer required. The Whyalla (nearest big town) City Council purchased the lighthouse with the help of the South Australia Government, and it was back in operation by 1995. The sign that welcomes drivers to the Eyre Peninsula has a photo of Port Lowly Lighthouse, as does the sign thanking drivers for visiting the Eyre Peninsula.
Some of the local wildlife and fishermen!!
On the drive to Port Lowly Lighthouse, I passed this funny sign and just had to stop!!
YIKES!!!
After this, I drove for almost 4 hours to Port Lincoln. I stopped for gas in Whyalla and saw the navy ship (The Whyalla) and the sign heading to Mt. Laura. (Who is Laura and why are there so many places named after her?!?!)
After Whyalla, there is a town that has a ferry that saves about 3 hours driving, so I went to see what time I could take it heading back to Adelaide tomorrow. The ferry hasn’t run for about 3 years (I really should have gotten an updated road atlas!!) but there was this funny little light there. It kind of looks like it may have been from a lightship, but I couldn't find any information on it.
It was 4:30pm by the time I got to Port Lincoln, and since the next lighthouse is in a National Park which closes at 5pm, I decided I’d see it in the morning. Port Lincoln has a statue of Makybe Diva, the racehorse. She won the Melbourne Cup 3 years in a row, 2003, 2004 and 2005 and she is the highest stakes winner in Australia - $14,526,685! I don‘t know what that means, but it sure looks impressive! She didn’t come from Port Lincoln, but the owners did. It was one of those underdog stories, the owner was a hard working fisherman and then he made a lot of money fishing and so he bought a horse and she turned out to be a winner!! My view from the hotel room is great tonight!!!
It’s a cute lighthouse and you can see where they added onto it in 1909 in the first photo above. Originally, built in 1883, it was 14 meters (45 feet) tall and fuelled by kerosene. The two cottages, also built in 1883, were for the light keepers, who manned the lighthouse for 90 years between 1883 and 1973. But in 1902, a ship ran ashore at Douglas Point so the tower was raised by 8 meters (25 feet). In 1973, this lighthouse was converted to electric and demanned. It was again upgraded in 1983, but turned off in 1993 by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority as it believed the lighthouse was no longer required. The Whyalla (nearest big town) City Council purchased the lighthouse with the help of the South Australia Government, and it was back in operation by 1995. The sign that welcomes drivers to the Eyre Peninsula has a photo of Port Lowly Lighthouse, as does the sign thanking drivers for visiting the Eyre Peninsula.
Some of the local wildlife and fishermen!!
On the drive to Port Lowly Lighthouse, I passed this funny sign and just had to stop!!
YIKES!!!After this, I drove for almost 4 hours to Port Lincoln. I stopped for gas in Whyalla and saw the navy ship (The Whyalla) and the sign heading to Mt. Laura. (Who is Laura and why are there so many places named after her?!?!)
After Whyalla, there is a town that has a ferry that saves about 3 hours driving, so I went to see what time I could take it heading back to Adelaide tomorrow. The ferry hasn’t run for about 3 years (I really should have gotten an updated road atlas!!) but there was this funny little light there. It kind of looks like it may have been from a lightship, but I couldn't find any information on it.
It was 4:30pm by the time I got to Port Lincoln, and since the next lighthouse is in a National Park which closes at 5pm, I decided I’d see it in the morning. Port Lincoln has a statue of Makybe Diva, the racehorse. She won the Melbourne Cup 3 years in a row, 2003, 2004 and 2005 and she is the highest stakes winner in Australia - $14,526,685! I don‘t know what that means, but it sure looks impressive! She didn’t come from Port Lincoln, but the owners did. It was one of those underdog stories, the owner was a hard working fisherman and then he made a lot of money fishing and so he bought a horse and she turned out to be a winner!! My view from the hotel room is great tonight!!!
Labels:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
About Me
- Laura
- Denver, Colorado, United States
- I'm originally from Colorado, but I've been living in Australia for three years. Before that, I lived all over the U.S.: Washington State, Maine, California, Oregon, Nebraska, North Carolina, Arizona, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and more... No, I'm not a military brat or a military wife; I was a traveling nurse for 5 years so I moved to a new city every 3 months. During my travels, I became intrigued with lighthouses and started making plans to photograph as many as I could in whichever state I was living (including the two in Nebraska!) My blog is about my trips to various lighthouses, as well as other interesting trips. I hope you enjoy reading, and leave a comment or two!
0 comments:
Post a Comment