6th June – Saturday
After heavy rain all night, the sky was actually clear at sunrise, although very, very cold. Shady, bushland caravan parks may be very picturesque and lovely in summer, but in winter they are just plain cold and damp. It was very nice to sit back in the nice warm caravan, drinking our NQ Gold coffee, and watching all those in their tents and small caravans sitting outside having breakfast, wearing coats, beanies and scarves.
Anyway, we headed for Burra, leaving behind the vineyards and olive groves and entering the area of lush merino and grain farms. Burra was an interesting little copper mining town, again with lots of very old buildings made from the local blue stone. Around Petersborough the scenery changed again, much drier and arid grain farms and stock.
During our morning break, we met a couple of Tasmanians in a motor home who were travelling with a couple from Bendigo, in a caravan. They also pulled into our lunch rest area, just as we were leaving and blocked our turning circle. This meant having to back up the caravan, which isn’t normally a problem with the two of us and the two way radio. However, with three different people offering advice to the driver, it was quite a relief to be back on the road again!!!
The road into Port Augusta took us through a pass as what is possibly the southern end of the Flinders Ranges – it would have been a very long drag if we had been going the other way. As it was, the long downhill stretch helped with our fuel consumption. Today was a fairly heavy day, as we filled the water tanks at Clare, the road was flat most of the way and there was also a head wind.
The Big 4 Holiday Park at Port Augusta is much more open, with gravel sites, which are extremely narrow. Awnings may not be used without permission from the management! The site is long enough for two caravans but an awning would touch the next caravan.
A tour of Port Augusta’s sites took us to the Matthew Flinders lookout over the Spencer Gulf, with a great view of the Flinders Ranges – and a pod of dolphins. We had to drive through the Arid Botanical Gardens to get to the lookout and signs warned us constantly to give way to snakes and lizards.
It’s raining again.
After heavy rain all night, the sky was actually clear at sunrise, although very, very cold. Shady, bushland caravan parks may be very picturesque and lovely in summer, but in winter they are just plain cold and damp. It was very nice to sit back in the nice warm caravan, drinking our NQ Gold coffee, and watching all those in their tents and small caravans sitting outside having breakfast, wearing coats, beanies and scarves.
Anyway, we headed for Burra, leaving behind the vineyards and olive groves and entering the area of lush merino and grain farms. Burra was an interesting little copper mining town, again with lots of very old buildings made from the local blue stone. Around Petersborough the scenery changed again, much drier and arid grain farms and stock.
During our morning break, we met a couple of Tasmanians in a motor home who were travelling with a couple from Bendigo, in a caravan. They also pulled into our lunch rest area, just as we were leaving and blocked our turning circle. This meant having to back up the caravan, which isn’t normally a problem with the two of us and the two way radio. However, with three different people offering advice to the driver, it was quite a relief to be back on the road again!!!
The road into Port Augusta took us through a pass as what is possibly the southern end of the Flinders Ranges – it would have been a very long drag if we had been going the other way. As it was, the long downhill stretch helped with our fuel consumption. Today was a fairly heavy day, as we filled the water tanks at Clare, the road was flat most of the way and there was also a head wind.
The Big 4 Holiday Park at Port Augusta is much more open, with gravel sites, which are extremely narrow. Awnings may not be used without permission from the management! The site is long enough for two caravans but an awning would touch the next caravan.
A tour of Port Augusta’s sites took us to the Matthew Flinders lookout over the Spencer Gulf, with a great view of the Flinders Ranges – and a pod of dolphins. We had to drive through the Arid Botanical Gardens to get to the lookout and signs warned us constantly to give way to snakes and lizards.
It’s raining again.
2 comments:
Looks lovely. Don't worry it's raining again - still! - here as well. Glad I stayed home. The cat hasn't moved from the lounge since 8:00 am.
Big wide open spaces from now on, should also have more clear skies. I don't know if the temperature will be warmer until further up the road. Safe travelling, enjoy!
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