23/5/2022 – Monday – 70km

Today we plan spending in Innes National Park all day & we paid the park fees online last night. As we topped the rise & started descending towards Chinamans Hat Bay the spectacular scenery unveiled itself with the islands of Investigator Straight & the steep cliffs rising sheer out of the sea. Our first stop is Ethel Beach with the anchor from the wreck of the ship “Ethel” (wrecked 1904) on display at the carpark overlooking the wreck of the Ethel on the beach far below. Nearby is the remnant boiler from the wreck of the “Ferret” (wrecked 1920) rusting in the sand. I walked down the steep set of stairs & looked at the “Ferret” boiler first, it is a very large piece of rusting steel with all the boiler elements clearly visible. The wreck of the “Ethel” is a lot more prominent with the large pieces of frame & ribs of the steel boat sticking out of the sand, it is amazing that so much is still visible after more than 100 years rusting away & being exposed to the fury of the wind & the sea.

The West Cape Lighthouse is our next stop with absolute stunning views in all directions looking out to sea at the distant Wedge Island then along the coast looking over Pondalowie Beach with North, South & Middle Island providing protection to the beaches. The cliff faces are amazingly steep & as we walk back from the lighthouse we bump into Peter, Di & Garth, Kimberley owners we met in Melrose.

Then onto Pondalowie Beach with a great wide boardwalk most of the way from the carpark to the beach with a great long wooden platform overlooking the beach. Apparently it is a good surfing place when the conditions are right. Again it is very pretty & a beautiful warm day, it is very pleasant, with not another person in sight. In the distance along the beach is an old fishing boat washed up on the sand, a sad sight.

As we keep driving along we pass a large flock of emus, both large & small. We stop & they are very curious & come towards us, it is so good to see such a large number of emus together in the wild. We continue to Browns Beach & soak in the view looking along the coast, before turning back & calling into Dolphin Beach, a nice sheltered beach. The road back gives us views of the many small salt lakes dotting the national park, mostly dry.

The Cape Spencer Lighthouse has fabulous views all round with Althorpe Island in Investigator Straight in the near distance & the mass of Kangaroo Island visible in the far distance stretching away in both directions. The cliffs stretching away either side of Cape Spencer are steep & spectacular with some sandy beaches exposed at low tide. It is stunningly beautiful.

Chinamans Hat Beach is our next stop with the lookout directly above the wreck of the “Marion” from 1862, though no wreckage is visible. There are a few fishermen along the beach trying their luck. Again beautiful scenery in all directions. Our next stop is a new lookout with views back over Chinaman Hat Island & the beach as well as more great views out to sea.

Stenhouse Bay is absolutely beautiful, the old jetty is nestled in near to the cliffs to give it protection from the weather. The jetty was originally built in the early 1900s for shipping gypsum & closed in the 1970s. This also must be a great squid catching jetty, there are lots of black ink marks staining the timber. It is a slow walk back up the slope out of Stenhouse Bay & we look back again to admire the beauty. Back to camp & dinner, another great day.