Venus Bay
We left Whyalla and headed across the Eyre Peninsula for an area called Baird Bay. We stopped in Kimba for lunch, and had a quick visit over to the silos to see the Big Galah, one of those massive structures that are so kitsch you just have to stop and have a look at them. Finally, we arrived at Venus Bay, our destination for the day. We had driven across the top of the peninsula rather than along the coast via Port Lincoln.
Venus Bay was just lovely, one of those little seaside villages that consists mostly of holiday huts and tin boats. We checked into the caravan park on the foreshore. A sandbar ran along the front, inhabited by gulls, terns, pelicans, black swans, sooty oystercatchers, and ducks. By the pier, dolphins and Australian sea lions were known to gather in the evening. I just loved it, and I was very sorry that we were only passing through. It was the sort of place where you wanted to set up camp for a week, inflate the inflatable boat, and just explore the waters. It was as beautiful that morning as it had been the night before. The water was like a silver satin sheet, billowing and shimmering in the light. A few boats lay at anchor, it was impossibly picturesque. We left Venus Bay most reluctantly, but we needed to press on, and the Baird Bay tour was our goal.