Seven nights at our favorite beach destination turned out to be exactly what we needed—a truly relaxing escape. For the past four years, we’ve made the Limestone Coast our go-to pre-Christmas haven, and despite its growing popularity, Southend remains a tranquil seaside retreat nestled at the southern tip of Rivoli Bay. With a population of just 263 + (as stated on the town’s welcome sign to incorporate the holiday season population growth), Southend offers an ocean view caravan park, a basic general store, and a serene bush camp behind the sand dunes, which is where we stay.
Southend is also a bustling crayfish port, home to one of the largest Rock Lobster fishing fleets in the region. Interestingly, it holds the distinction of being the first seaport in the Limestone Coast.
Our days here were blissfully simple, filled with long beach walks, invigorating hikes, bike rides, and off-road adventures through Canunda National Park.
Evenings became a cherished ritual: enjoying a ‘happy hour’ drink on the beach and a paddle in the chilly sea. However, our seaside dips came to an abrupt halt when we noticed a wave of Blue Bottle Jellyfish drifting into the bay. Needless to say, we decided to stay well away from the water after that!
One afternoon, we ventured over to Beachport, another charming Limestone Coast gem. With the area gearing up for the Christmas crowds, we hit a snag—the main road from Southend to Beachport was closed for resurfacing. What is typically a 14 km trip turned into a scenic but lengthy 56 km detour through farmland and plantations. Beachport, like Southend, holds a special place in our hearts as another quaint coastal town we’ve explored over the years.
The purpose of our visit? To secure our annual Christmas crayfish. Unfortunately, this year prices have skyrocketed to five-year highs. This surge, we are told is attributed to a strong demand from Asian markets (particularly China), coupled with low supply due to challenging weather conditions and strict quota management. As semi-retired, self-funded nomads, we simply couldn’t justify the splurge this year.
Instead, we settled for a delightful light lunch of prawn and squid salads at the Lobster Pot Café, along with a cold drink to toast the day. Cheers! 🍻
In between all the exploring, we’ve also been getting to know our new travel apartment on wheels, “Lottie,” our Lotus caravan. The past seven days have been an excellent opportunity to test her capabilities—and she has exceeded expectations!
Although we had a few overcast days, the solar system kept our batteries charged above 96% consistently. With an upgraded 800-amp lithium battery system (compared to the 200-amp system we had before), this has been an absolute game-changer for full-time travel. I joked that with this setup, we could probably start feeding energy back into the grid for some extra income!
Water management will be the only challenge, especially in remote areas. We carry a 60-litre water bladder in the car, which allows us to replenish our tanks during town trips. Over the week, we refilled twice, though with a total tank capacity of 335 litre (including a 50-litre drinking water tank), we could have comfortably gone the full seven days without refilling. This included daily conservative showers and even one load in the washing machine!
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