Whyalla

Last weekend we took a day trip down to the town of Whyalla. It is a small town about 45 minutes down the coast from Port Augusta.

It started in the early 1900s as a port where iron ore from inland could be loaded onto ships to be taken to Port Pirie. In the 1940s, a blast furnace was started that would purify the ore into iron. Later a steel mill was added in conjunction with the blast furnace. Also in the 40s, a shipyard was opened for constructing patrol ships for WWII and commercial ships after the war. Today, the shipyard is closed, but the blast furnace/steel mill is still operational. The town is also promoting itself as a tourist destination with scenic coastlines, museums and dolphin and cuttlefish watching.

We had a quick lunch at a local hotel when we first arrived:

Then we went down to see the harbor to hopefully see a dolphin or two. We got there just as some fishermen were returning to the dock. It is common for them to throw scraps overboard and the dolphins have learned to trail the boats in the hopes that they will get fed.

One of the fishermen gave Christa a leftover bait fish and told her how to get a dolphin to come and eat it.

photo from Dunc

Sequence of dolphin approaching and gently taking the fish out of her hand:

Us (plus an unidentified lady) being dolphin paparazzi:

photo from Dunc

The dolphins were pretty curious (or greedy for food). Both in the harbor and while we were on a jetty, they were watching us. They would often swim on their side so they could keep one eye above the water and see through the air.

We also saw a local fisherman catching squid for dinner.

As we were leaving a huge pelican swooped in and landed on a lamp post:

Viewed in the right way, they look like silly cartoon characters: