Emus on parade at Stenhouse Bay
Emus, Stenhouse Bay, Yorke Peninsula
On our recent holiday on the Yorke Peninsula we had lunch at Marion Bay, visited the visitor centre of the Innes National Park and then continued on driving through the park near Stenhouse Bay. We stopped many times to admire the scenery, take photos of landscapes and seascapes and check out the bird and plant life.
One species of bird virtually came to us. A small flock of 5 juvenile Emus wandered along the side of the road quite unconcerned that we were only metres away. They are certainly unafraid of vehicles passing by as this happens many times every day in parks like this. They just went about their business finding their lunch.
This group consisted of juveniles probably about 18 – 24 months old. The female Emu lays up to about a dozen eggs in a shallow nest on the ground. The male then incubates the eggs and looks after the young for up to 2 years after hatching. The birds we saw were over half grown and independent of the father, so I’m guessing they’d have to be at least 18 months old.
Emus, Stenhouse Bay, Yorke Peninsula
Emus, Stenhouse Bay, Yorke Peninsula
Stenhouse Bay, Yorke Peninsula
Stenhouse Bay jetty, Yorke Peninsula
Stenhouse Bay on the southern end of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia was once a thriving port. It was established in 1913 when gypsum was mined in nearby Inneston. The rock, once treated, was used in the building industry as plaster of paris and cement. Many older homes in Adelaide have plaster ceilings made from gypsum mined in this area. The mining works closed in 1972 and many of the houses in Stenhouse Bay and Inneston were demolished. Some still remain and are used by the national park rangers, either for staff accommodation or for hire for tourists. I’ll show some photos of them in a few days.
Stenhouse Bay jetty, Yorke Peninsula
Shipwreck Trail, Stenhouse Bay, Yorke Peninsula
Stenhouse Bay, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia
The southern coast of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia is a rugged coastline and has been the cause of many ship wrecks over the years. The rocky coastline, combined with the wild winds and raging seas surging up from the Southern Ocean and all the way from Antarctica, is a potent mixture.
At various places along the coast there are lookouts over the sites of various ship wrecks, like the one where I took these photos at Stenhouse Bay. In fact, there is a well established Shipwreck Trail visitors can follow along this coast. One of the signs is shown below. Some of the wrecks are open to divers as well.
The Investigator Straight is the body of water between the southern coast of Yorke Peninsula and Kangaroo Island to the south. It is named after the ship Investigator, captained by Matthew Flinders, an explorer in Australia’s early history. A staggering 26 ships have been wrecked in this small body of water between 1849 to 1982 with the loss of 70 lives.
Shipwreck Trail, Stenhouse Bay, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia
Stenhouse Bay, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia