Both these photographs were taken in the first week of September 1999 - and at the time, I had no idea that this region (the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia) would play such an important part in my writing career.
When I was writing my novel Vegemite Vindaloo (published by Penguin India) I tried to ``create'' a fictional bush town, where a couple of light-hearted chapters would be set. I hit upon the idea of a place called Jindaroo Creek - and based it on the coastal stretch of the Eyre Peninsula that had captivated me a few years earlier.
Jindaroo Creek is set in the general locale of the spectacular Bunda Cliffs, the amazing sand dunes, the long ribbon of highway, the warm waters where the southern right whales come to calve - all the places that captivated me on that trip.
Jindaroo Creek also has whale-watching flights, operated by Dirty Fokker Flight Services. If you'd like to read about my own experience on a whale-watching flight, check out Jindaroo Creek at Portugal-based Terry Fletcher's excellent Anglo-Indian Portal. In essence, it will tell you that while Jindaroo Creek does not really exist, the stunning features and landmarks around it most certainly do.
And here's something worth noting, too. Back in 1999, I had very little interest in photography. These pictures - and the ones on Terry's site - were taken with a simple point-and-click Instamatic!
