Shane, who’s building his family a house, extended a sincere handshake when he came overwith his dog to have a chat and check whether we’ve survived the cold night. He had been living off the land with his wife and children and recently sold his farm and moved to Coffin Bay. “I just work half days now. It’s great. No tax invoices, no orders. I go to work. I come home. That’s it. I’m done. The rest of the time is for me and my family.” Now there is a man who has his priorities right.
Sure enough, as I looked over later in the day, Shane had come home. He, his wife and one of his children, still too young to go to school, and his dog, were all on their front porch, together. He gave a long-held wave as we headed off further on our adventure.
Along the way, with a smidgen of a turn off the main road, a small sandstone church stands on the top of a hill of native daisies. Clouds roll over the 360 degree sky. There is a farmhouse between the trees, with horses standing by in the paddock. Then a abandoned old sandstone farmhouse, with an outhouse in the back. Sheep, sheep and more sheep. A dry rock fence, for a little human ingenuity. Then, sheep, sheep, and more sheep. And the sun setting before us.
Small stone church
The occasssional car (or ute, or 4wd or truck-trailer- trailer) passes us and, more often than not, the driver happily waves back to Ted.
Though there are tweetering songs and calls most prominent of the sounds is a bleeting lamb and the calming deep response from the ewe.
The tweets and chirps continue to sing to the setting sun, as it lights up the base of the cloudsl. Waves of the “Southern Ocean” pound behind the sand dunes.
A windmill stands in the paddock, a typical Aussie scene. Elliston lies 5 kms ahead.
Windmill sunset
Giant cacti jut out against the twilight sky.
I thought I’d seen all that could be seen for the day. The highlight came in the dark. Dolphins swam in Venus Bay. Lit by the lights of the long jetty they were competing for the fish with the fishermen.
I seemed to be the only female that accompanied her man. There were 2 dolphins But only lone fishermen on the jetty. In the caravan park in the morning I could only see men, packing cleaning up, organising. All freshly shaven and ready for the day. But where are the women? They must be around somewhere. Wherever they are, they are not with their men. That is, they do not seem to share in the packing and unpacking duties, and they obviously have little interest in fishing.
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