Freycinet Trail: With Ron Kandelaars in the West Coast region of South Australia

Just north of Whyalla, at the top of Spencer Gulf, the Freycinet Trail winds its way along a spectacular stretch of coastline framed by the Flinders Ranges. It's a unique part of South Australia, where the outback meets the sea.

Louis Claude De Freycinet was part of Nicholas Baudin's voyage of discovery. The French navigators were here nine months after Matthew Flinders first charted this part of the Gulf. Now Freycinet's name adorns a number of interpretive signs which are part of a tourist trail developed by another European, Paul Mazourek, who originally came from the Czech Republic to make this his home.

"It's the combination of the desert and the sea - the mountains on the other side of the gulf and the wonderful blue skies. There's an ultimate freedom out here." said Paul.

Baudin originally entered Spencer Gulf in April 1802 but was forced to abandon his surveys due to bad weather. He and Freycinet would return, intent on putting their stamp on the map of New Holland. They returned in 1803 on board a vessel named La Casuarina. Freycinet surveyed this gulf and Gulf Saint Vincent and named places like Piton de Casuarina, Baie Voltaire, Cap Moliere and Cap la Fontaine. They're romantic French names - a little more romantic than the likes of Backy Point, a nearby headland.

For thousands of years this country was part of another trail which extended hundreds of kilometres further north. Just like families today, aboriginal groups would make their way to the coast for tucker.

The Mulkarry Pungala people followed the same stretch of coastline we do today. Along the way we catch glimpses of the pens in which yellow tail kingfish are fattened up for export. No such delicacies for Freycinet and his men and they would also have missed, by a matter of months, one of the miracles of the natural world - the annual cuttlefish migration. The rocky nooks and crevices beneath the waterline provide the perfect spot for cuttlefish to hide their eggs.

"They usually start coming by the end of April but the most numbers are just about July - July," said Paul "By August 31, there are none - they just disappear."

The cuttlefish migration remains a mystery and it's one that takes place in the shadow of our final stop on the Freycinet Trail - the Point Lowly Lighthouse that was built in 1883. These days there are no lighthouse keepers in the cottages just tourists who holiday here.

For bookings at the cottages contact 8645 0100.

The Whyalla Visitor Centre has detailed maps and brochures on the Freycinet Trail.

Freycinet Trail
Fitzgerald Bay to Point Lowly
Eyre Peninsula
Contact Whyalla Visitor Centre & Maritime Museum
Lincoln Highway
Ph 1800 088 589