Motorcycle Explorer November 2016 Issue 14 | Page 67

After crossing the Nullarbor in late
October, I celebrated the achievement
by gorging on the famous Ceduna
oysters. They really are as good as the
locals claim. It had been a very
enjoyable jaunt and not at all difficult or
boring as most naysayers had warned.
Mo, my trusty postie bike, was going to
get the rare treat of riding without
luggage for the next few weeks as I was
meeting up with a good friend to
explore the Eyre Peninsula.
My personal cook, Nerida, arrived in
Streaky Bay with my personal escort
vehicle, a rented campervan, and Mo
was able to frolic on the dirt roads
unburdened by baggage. Our first gem
of discovery was Baird Bay about 30kms
off the main road on the west coast.
Here, Nerida was able to go swimming
with the seals in the Southern Ocean
while Mo and I trekked out to the
peninsula. We indulged in superb King
George whiting at Elliston and enjoyed
a glorious week exploring Coffin Bay
and Lincoln National Park; free camping
in deserted sites, beach combing on
serene coastline with magnificent
sunsets and nightly celestial displays.
Linda Bootherstone, my WA travel
buddy and fellow writer, resides in Port
Lincoln when she’s not off exploring the
country on her Kawasaki Sherpa. Once
Nerida returned home, I stayed a further
week with Linda and was introduced to
a whole new world with the wonderful
crew from the Cellar Folk Club. Linda
has been riding all over the world for
the past 50 years and manages to carry
all sorts of musical instruments on her
motorbikes including a Celtic Harp… but
that’s a whole other story.
Murphy's Haystacks are inselberg rock
formations located at Mortana, between
Streaky Bay and Port Kenny on the Eyre
Peninsula in South Australia. They
obtained their name because a traveller in
a coach saw the formation in the distance.
He asked how a farmer could produce so
much hay. As the farm was on a property
owned by a man called Murphy, the rocks
became known as Murphy's Haystacks.