14 March 2018 - Day 11 - In Ceduna

Had a lazy start to the day with a few cups of strong black coffee. I was definitely feeling better with the cough having substantially abated and foot feeling unquestionably better. I spent the better part of the morning catching up on FB posts and writing the blog. I have set myself a target of leaving Ceduna tomorrow morning without any backlog of writing the blog. Half way through one of the day’s descriptions I felt way too hungry. Emi in Adelaide had packed excellent sandwiches with spicy tuna filling. I had a couple of them and was instantly sated. By 10 am I thought it was time to go and explore one of the Bays recommended by Brad. He had suggested the Smoky Bay and the Streaky Bay, if I had the time. The latter was way out and I decided to give that a miss. So, I was headed to Smoky Bay.

Smoky Bay is just 40 km from the Ceduna Motor Inn and I could not believe what I was seeing when I reached there. Are there such places on earth, I wondered? This place must surely be a part description of Paradise. At least three colors of the water could be seen – closer to the beach shore it was clear, slightly further away it was greenish and further up it was deep blue. Astonishing, to say the least, the colors looked as if separated by a straight line.

The beach, though sandy, was full of broken shells and seaweed. The Bay stretched on for kilometres and it seemed a very popular place for camping. Most of the camping sites were occupied. Beach fronted houses were advertised for long time rental. It would be a wonderful place to retire to and spend time fishing and beachcombing. The Bay has a boat ramp and I saw many people returning from their fishing trips to the outer parts of the Bay. A lady told me that she had a full catch of crabs, which she was taking home to her kids. Besides, there is long and sturdy jetty meant for tourists and anglers. When one from the latter group found me walking around with a selfie stick he nonchalantly remarked, “You ain’t gonna catch ‘em with that”! Facilities such as the jetty and the boat ramp make life so much more enjoyable and monetarily rewarding for the residents of the area. A small area nearer to the shore has even been fenced in the water for safe swimming. The Bay is known to have unwanted visitors like sharks.

The Ceduna Oyster Barn was highly recommended by Brad to try fresh oysters. I drove from the Bay to the Barn. The caravan kind of eatery is run by a couple and a helper. I told Peter, the owner of the Barn, that I have never tried oysters before and that I want him to take me through what he thought was the right way. He opened up a fresh shell, cleaned it expertly, squeezed a portion of lime on it and asked me to try it. I quickly slid the uncooked meat down my throat and rather liked the taste of it. Peter told me that the oyster connoisseurs always had them naked with a dash of lime. I decided to go that way too and asked for half a dozen naked oysters. He presented them in a while and said that in three of them he had put a special ‘sinister’ sauce, which he would replace, if I didn’t like it. Didn’t like it? Heavenly they were. Peter further told me that the oysters were fresh off the water and seldom does one get them so fresh. I promised to come back later in the evening for dinner. He suggested that I try out the Whiting fish, which is found only in Australia.

After some rest and a couple hours on the blog it was time to get back to Ceduna Oyster Barn for dinner. Peter introduced me to his Vietnamese partner. I ordered a two piece Whiting fish plate that came with loads of fries and fresh salad. The homemade tartar sauce and sour salad dressing made the fish and the rest taste so yummy. Peter suggested a drive to Denial Bay, which was just 10 km from the Barn. The Bay bathed in a glorious sunset was a wonderful parting sight for me. The Denial Bay is renowned for its oyster farms and Peter said that the best oysters in the region come out of that Bay. Denial Bay was named thus by the 19^th century explorer, Capt Matthew Flinders, for he was denied hopes of finding an inland fresh water river at this place. Anyway, it was a befitting end to the excellent familiarization of the town.