Week 518 - Port Broughton, South Australia

Our week has been one of survival and maintenance.  The temperature has crept up and the winds have been strong, blowing many dust storms around.  Our camp site was in the dusty carpark of the football grounds at Port Augusta in the foothills of the Flinders Ranges.  Our third time at this camp site and probably the last time in our travels.

Southern Flinders Ranges - The view from our
camp site at Port Augusta, overlooking the
Southern Flinders Ranges.

Port Augusta has all the shops, services and facilities.  So we booked our motorhome into Butlers Mechanical for a grease and oil change.  You don't get much change out of $500, in fact, we just got a couple of coins.  But the bus has been reliable in the last 10 years and didn't need much attention this time.

Murray Town Pub - We camped in this town. 
Absolutely derelict. No shops or pub open 
and a population of just a dozen or so people.

Charlies Aeroplane - Charlie built a model of an 
airplane back in 1967. Of course it deteriorated 
in the sun and this is a replica to keep the local 
folklore alive. It is a landmark of the town

We departed and climbed over the Southern Flinders Range to Murray Town.  A deserted township in the middle of nowhere.  We continued through  Germain Gorge.  Not for the faint hearted.  The roads were very narrow and winded through spectacular scenery, surprisingly green in places.  The day was quite hot, but the temperature gauge monitoring the engine stayed constantly in the green, where it should be.

Germain Gorge - The passage through the gorge 
was about 25 km, very scenic and sometimes 
spectacular

Still the Germain Gorge - The Gorge was 
sometimes challenging, the road was very 
narrow at times and several winding bends 
were taken at just 20 km an hour.

As we exited the gorge, we could see the Spencer Gulf and in the distance we could see the townships that we had visited on the Eyre Pennisula. i.e. Point Lowly and Whyalla.

A sightsee at Port Pirie and we ended up at an interesting camp site at Port Broughton.  A realistic $10 a night, no facilities but work is still in progress.

Our guard dog 

Our days are spent sightseeing, Jo's spare time is spent in the sewing room and I potter around the bus doing odd jobs and maintenance.  Rusti is still as cute as ever.

Comments

Thrush
2019-02-15

Although I only spent 18 months at Coober Pedy it was long enough to appreciate the beauty of parts of South Australia. And A joy to see your photo of the Flinders Ranges.

Eric & Annie
2019-02-15

Looks great, always good to follow your travels, hope to hook up again someday!

Bruce N
2019-02-17

Thanks for the blogs. Safe travels.

Week 517 - Point Lowly, South Austalia

Our South Australian experience continues dominated by the weather, very hot and very very windy.

Our camp spot at the beginning of the week was at Cowell and often in the afternoons we were hit by a dust storm, sandblasting our motorhome and making it even more uncomfortable in this desert low cost camp.

Market day for Jo - A picturesque spot to have a market.(Dot - I see Miss Rusti is front and centre)

The main street of Cowell was in walking distance of our camp spot and on the Sunday, Jo hosted a stall at the markets.  Very picturesque and very local.  Not too many people about, but Jo had a steady roll up at her market stall.

We decided to push on earlier than expected due to the weather.  Eventually travelling up the road to Whyalla, an industrial town, dominated by the steel works.  I can't believe the Queen visited Whyalla back in 1986 it would have been a one horse town, very dusty, very dirty and probably dirt roads.  Things haven't changed too much.

One Steel iron ore - Whyalla is definitely an 
industrial town. All vistas are industrial.

Whyalla's Hangar - This hangar was at the original 
airstrip. First passenger aircraft flew into 
Whyalla 1939.

We are treading water at Whyalla to kill a few days.  The locals were very friendly and made us very welcome at the Weeroona Football and Sports Club.

Emu camouflaged - We have seen lots of emus 
and kangaroos in South Australia. This one has 
good camouflage.

Our motorhome has become very grubby with the sand, dirt and road grime.  We haven't had water to wash it for 70 days, so we took advantage of the deserted showground at Whyalla and gave it a good scrub and polish and departed for Point Lowly.

Point Lowly is a remote fishing village located at Port Bonython.  The port is dominated by the lighthouse that was built in 1883 and is now no longer in use. The population here at the moment is probably only about 20-30 people including Rusti the dog.

Point Lowly Lighthouse - Built in 1883 and
has saved many a ship from going aground.

The Eyre Pennisula has certainly been an adventure.  A must see and do for all travellers.

Comments

Wendy
2019-02-09

What was Jo selling at the market?

One Stck
2019-02-10

Dean was born in Whyalla, but spent his first 5 years in Alice Springs then returned to Whyalla where he completed his schooling, worked at BHP for awhile then completed his trade as a panel beater and spray painter.

Week 516 - Cowell, South Australia

We enjoyed our stay in Port Lincoln and our send off was a fireworks display over the harbour.  It was Rusti the dog's first fireworks display and if she wasn't a dog she would have had kittens.  She showed all the signs of stress and shook like a leaf.

Tunarama - The firework display at Tunarama, 
Port Lincoln was fantastic, however, Rusti 
the dog had a nervous breakdown and so did the 
photographer, hence photograph.

Our first stop out of Port Lincoln was Tumby Bay, just across from the airport and next to the bush.  The views over the ocean were spectacular and very colourful, but unfortunately on arrival at the photo shoot my battery on the camera was flat so I missed some great shots.  The ocean was arctic blue and opal green.  I am sure I will come across this phenomenon again.

Tumby Bay Airstrip - We spent some time at 
Tumby Bay right alongside the airstrip.

After charging the camera, the weather didn't cooperate, so alas no photos.

Next stop, behind the pub at Arno Bay.  We might as well have been camped on the moon.  The place was a dust bowl and the township was deserted.  The Lion's Club, back in 2006, started putting a lot of money and effort in to building a boardwalk through the mangroves.  However, it is incomplete.  A perfect example of wasted funds and resources.

Abstinence makes the heart grow fonder - With 
not much choice, my first pint for a while was 
Cooper's Pale Ale, not my favourite beer.

Franklin Harbour Hotel built in 1897 - The venue for my 
first beer after abstinence.

Pressing on further north, timing our distances between predicted weather forecasts, we arrived at Cowell.  The Lion's Club have built a perfect campground.  The cost is $25 for a week or $5 per night. 

The town is well kept, has two pubs, a few shops and a pleasant history dating back to late mid 1800's.

Cowell RV Park - A perfect example of how a 
park should be run and costed.

It's Trish Jackson's 70'th Birthday on 23rd February in Moonta, York Pennisula, South Australia, so we have decided to slow down, take our time and head steadily to Moonta, just 393 km away.

Comments

dot
2019-02-01

What no pic of Miss Rusti! not good enough at all. :)

Bill...
2019-02-01

What miserable excuse can you offer for inflicting so much pain and suffering on yourself, and to have to break it with that Coopers stuff!

floosie
2019-02-02

Have a beer for us. Poor Rusti not liking the fireworks...great photo of the fireworks!! xxx