Port Lincoln is a very pleasant town in ‘country Australia’, way off the beaten tourist track at the bottom of the Eyre Peninsula. The area was first explored by Matthew Flinders in the famous ‘Investigator’ in 1802 but not settled until 1836. Here is VS off the town jetty:

 

 

This is without doubt the most convenient town anchorage that we’ve been to anywhere, with the Post Office and cafes at the root of the jetty and supermarkets and laundromat within sight. Amazing. And no other cruising boats because almost no-one comes down this way; they should, because the cruising here is excellent, with no cyclones!

Here is Port Lincoln’s most famous resident, Makybe Diva, the most successful racehorse in Australian history (owned by a local Croat expat tuna fisherman, which in itself is a microcosm of modern Australian social history):

 

 

Port Lincoln (named by Flinders after his native Lincolnshire) is an important grain port. Surprisingly it has a thriving railway delivering grain for export, with hundreds of miles of 3’6’ gauge track, entirely isolated from the rest of the Australian network. Unusually the trackbed is still owned by the State, but the track and trains are owned and operated by an American company, Genevesee & Wyoming. Here is a grain train shunting in the port:

 

 

Port Lincoln Bay is an enormous natural harbour, several times the size of Sydney’s. Much of the hinterland to the south forms the Lincoln National Park; here is the entrance lighthouse, NP in the background (very dry and flat). You may just be able to make out a family of wild emus foraging on the beach (there is a mother and several large chicks visible against the bare rocks, left of centre):

 

 

We have much enjoyed our short visit to Port Lincoln. But it’s time to go. What looks like an excellent weather window is opening up on Monday morning, so we’re leaving today to spend the weekend in the NP and relocate to the very southernmost tip of the peninsula ready to sail off at dawn on Monday.

Crew now augmented by Ali’s cousin Mark who is coming to Perth with us.