(Mark wants to add here that no-one else has caught any fish either... and he did catch 2 squid, see our photos for proof).
Tumby Bay is a lovely little coastal town, on the Eyre Peninsula 50km north of Port Lincoln. The water here is crystal blue, sandbars lead out for many metres in the ocean leaving shallow clear stretches of water and a stunning white sandy beach. We rocked up here in the pouring rain and set up, our trakkie held up awesomely, although we looked like a couple of drowned rats! This is the first time we have actually considered how much easier a caravan would be ...how jealous we were of the grey nomads peering out their windows, snickering at us youngins !!!
Well we have been to Oktoberfest in Germany... Begonia Festival in Ballarat... Moomba in Melbourne but now we can claim fame that we have been to the ...Tuna-rama festival in Port Lincoln!!! As you are probably aware, Port Lincoln is very famous for its big tuna fishing industry and this festival has it all... a Miss Tunarama Quest, The Tuna toss, Prawn peeling competition (using only one hand), Keg Roll race, the list goes on. It was a great way for us to spend our Australia Day, the atmosphere was relaxed, and the entertainment was great. The 'world-renowned' tuna toss was such a way for men to test their 'male macho-ness' (Mark said he would have had a go if it wasn't for his knee...cough, cough) and the funny thing about all this macho male stuff was that was a woman managed to get the largest toss in the heats we were watching!!! Go girls!! Mind you she was obviously a discus or hammer thrower, her technique was spot on, she had a body built for power (!) and she threw her tuna a whopping 17 metres! Speaking of the tuna, up to this year they have always used real tuna to toss. The locals told us that political correctness and the greenies stood in and demanded that no fish be harmed so they resorted to a new environmentally friendlier polyurethane tuna! A quite impressive life size replica and same weight. The prize for 1st place is $1000 so not bad for throwing a fish!! We hung around for the evening fireworks, the first the kids have seen (so they informed us!) and they were awesome, well worth the wait. We all had a fabulous time.
And Mark turned a year older...and I am sure wiser...last Friday. The kids and I blew up some balloons and stuck them up in trakkie, we had a bacon and egg brekky, and went out for our first meal of our trip. We went to a little restaurant called 'The Little Jetty' and the food was superb, such a treat to have someone else cook!
Other highlights:-
- The pelicans here at Tumby are so cool! They are so graceful and weird looking and aloof and mesmerizing all in one!
- The kids and I had our first ever go at snorkelling. Mark has been before so he was our instructor as we paddled around in the shallows. The kids couldn't quite master the snorkel itself, but had fun with the masks and holding their breath. I absolutely loved it! I ordered a prescription snorkelling mask online before we left (because I am so blind without my glasses!) and I am just so glad that I did, we had these little fish swimming around us and I found the underwater world fascinating. Can't wait to get over to the west to Coral Bay and see the real reefs, you wont be able to shut me up after that I am sure!!!
- We are officially 1 month in of our holiday today! Unbelievable!
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