Adelaide

Thursday 11 August:  We arrived in Adelaide in the early afternoon and Marg decided that we needed to take ourselves off to Magill Road to trawl through the many antique shops that she had read about. There was obviously little choice in the matter, so the other one of us made only token protest.  As it happened, the other one of us picked up a toy…

Eastman Kodak No. 2A Brownie (c. 1924-1933)

Friday 12 August:  We’re staying at the Adelaide Caravan Park (in a very comfortable ensuite cabin) and this morning we decided to risk the public transport system and go in to the city by bus.  It worked – sort of.  The biggest challenge was trying to find the right bus stop for the return journey. We assumed (quite reasonably, we think) that a return stop would be found on the opposite side of the road to where we alighted on the forward trip, but that’s not how it works in Adelaide, apparently.  There was a stop on the opposite side, but not for the bus we needed.  After wandering around aimlessly looking like stereotypical tourists, we found the right stop eventually – and then had another 20 minute wait for the bus to arrive. It would have been quicker to drive (or walk)……

Marg especially wanted to see the Ediacaran Fossils that are on display at the South Australian Museum, so that was our first port of call.  These fossils, first discovered by Dr Reg Sprigg (of Arkaroola fame) are the remains of the most ancient animals on Earth and were first identified in the Flinders Ranges.  A quick trip to the South Australian Art Gallery completed our visit to the city centre.

After lunch we went off to Port Adelaide, a maritime heritage precinct featuring numerous colonial and Victorian-era buildings.  There’s a bit of ‘gentrification’ going on but, mostly, the buildings seem to have been sensitively restored.  A few photos….

Port Adelaide Lighthouse

While at Port Adelaide, Marg visited the local supermarket for a few necessities (chocolate) and was presented with this small puppet, which (apparently) could not be refused.  We don’t know why….

Tomorrow we head for Kangaroo Island for 5 nights. 

Posted from Adelaide

Veging at Port Germein

After lots of driving over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been taking it easy for a few days.  Added to that, Brian has come down with the lurgi (Marg is resisting so far), so a few days of veging is probably what we need.

On Tuesday 9 we travelled the short distance from Port Augusta to Port Germein.  We passed though here in 2009 and thought it looked like a good spot to relax for a couple of days. Port Germein was once a major port for transport of wheat from inland areas of South Australia before the railway came through and put an end to ship transport. The Port has a low jetty extending 1.5 km out into Spencer Gulf (originally 1.6 km but reduced in length due to storm damage). 

Port Germein is not ‘Excitement Central’ – it has a pub, a general store, a junk shop (which was Marg’s first port of call within minutes of our arrival) and …… well, that’s about it, really. Did we mention the jetty?

The storm damaged end of the Port Germein Jetty

There used to be a lighthouse at the end of the jetty but it’s been re-located to the shore.  It’s an odd but picturesque old thing – here’s a photo we took of it when we passed through here in 2009 when there was a wild storm brewing out in the gulf.

During this trip so far, it’s probably no exaggeration to say that most of the traffic on outback roads (apart from the road trains) have been camper vans, Winnebagos and large caravans.  Many of these are equipped to handle all the “necessities” of life on the road, including the kitchen sink and a satellite dish.  However, a van that we saw at the Port Germein Caravan Park redefined the words ‘basic’ and ‘cosy’.

The World’s Smallest Caravan?

On Wednesday 10 August, the weather wasn’t promising so we took ourselves down to Port Pirie for a look around and then drove through the Port Germein Gorge to Murray Town and back.  On the way we called in at the Blesing’s Garden winery which was allegedly open.  As directed by a sign at the winery door, we pressed the ‘bell’, which turned out to be a bird scaring device resulting in loud, predatory bird calls reverberating throughout the valley. Despite this unambiguous announcement of our presence (or perhaps because of it), no one came to the tasting room.  Oh, well…

An unusual message on the approach to Port Germein Gorge

We stayed at Port Germein for two nights (including Census Night) before moving on to Adelaide today (Thursday 11).  As usual, we won’t be going by the most direct route – stopping in at Port Pirie again to dispatch this post and then heading south via Port Broughton.

Marg has been journaling and painting during the trip, based on the colours and landscapes that we’ve seen.  Here’s a few extracts from the journal.

Spinifex and Salt Bush

Unexpected Lakes

Red Desert after Rain

Posted from Port Pirie

Heading South – A Postscript

Monday 8 August: OK – We got to Glenambro around 3:20 PM and decided to press on further.  When we got to Pimba, a further 110 km down the highway, we decided that we could probably reach Port Augusta before dark.  So, on we went.

However – there was a bit of miscalculation by one of us (OK, by Brian) regarding the time for sunset and we had to drive the last 60 minutes in darkness.  That may not sound like a great problem but the roadsides are unfenced and the possibility of a kangaroo or something larger (eg. a cow) wandering out on the road caused some white knuckle driving for that 60 minutes.  The occasional appearance of a dead cow by the side of the road did nothing to ease the anxiety.

Anyway, after a tad under 800 km for the day, here we are!

Posted from Port Augusta

Heading South…

Just popping in from Coober Pedy on our way back south. As we found on our way into South Australia a week or two ago, the quarantine restrictions are fairly comprehensive so we had to dump any of our remaining fruit and vegetables at Marla. We will be stocking up on a few essentials here before heading off shortly.

We left Alice Springs yesterday (Sunday 7 August) after a fairly low key day on Saturday, the highlight being the free-flight birds display at the Alice Springs Desert Park.  Although short in duration, the performance of the birds was worth the price of admission by itself. 

When we arrived, a group of 30 or more Spinifex Pigeons were happily eating seeds in the presentation area.  Then, as the time for the free flight presentation approached, they all made a bee line for the cover of the low growing shrubs and spinifex.  They obviously knew that raptors would soon be appearing and they weren’t about to hang around to become lunch.

As expected the raptors (Barn Owl, Black Kite and Whistling Kite) stole the show – the Barn Owl especially, as it appeared in a tree hollow on cue and then entertained the audience with a silent free flight over our heads.  The appearance of the Black Kite flushed a few of the more tardy Spinifex Pigeons but they all seemed to escape unscathed.  The Nocturnal House at the Park is also excellent.

Later in the day we visited the Araluen Cultural Precinct, including the Museum of Central Australia and the Air Museum.  The latter included the Kookaburra Memorial – the remains of the Wackett Widgeon aircraft that came down in the Tanami Desert in 1929 while searching for Charles Kingsford-Smith and the crew of the Southern Cross aircraft, which had gone missing on a flight from Sydney to England.  The Kookaburra was one of the aircraft that took part in the search but it was forced down with engine trouble. The crew of the Southern Cross survived but the crew of the Kookaburra perished. The remains of the Kookaburra were lost in the Tanami until rediscovered in 1978 by Dick Smith.

Last night (Sunday) we stayed at Marla Roadhouse – very comfortable and we will probably be at Glendambo Roadhouse tonight.  Thereafter, probably Port Germein on Spencer Gulf for a couple of nights before heading on to Adelaide. We’re not sure how easy internet access will be prior to Adelaide.

Barn Owl at the Alice Springs Desert Park

The Kookaburra Memorial

The Old Ghan train at Alice Springs

Central Australian Railway at Marla

Posted from Coober Pedy

The WestMacs

Friday 5 August: With only two full days in Alice Springs and two reasonably long drives south when we leave on Sunday morning, we decided to tour the West MacDonnell Ranges today.  That would leave us an easy day tomorrow with little driving before our return trip.

The West MacDonnell Ranges extend about 150 km to the west of Alice Springs and there are several easily accessible points for conventional two wheel drive vehicles.  Our first port of call was Simpsons Gap, 17 km from town and we finished later in the afternoon at Glen Helen Gorge 132 km west, near the source of the Finke River.  Having crossed the Finke at our lunch stop yesterday about 100 km south of Alice, it was like meeting up with an old friend again – well, a friend of about 24 hours….. 

Without exception, the places we visited provided spectacular scenery, towering granite and sandstone walls, quiet pools and even a bit of wildlife.

Here’s a small sample:

Simpsons Gap

Angkerle Atwatye (Standley Chasm)

Ellery Creek Big Hole

Ochre Pits

Ormiston Gorge

At Ormiston Gorge there was a bit of excitement when a lone dingo appeared at a nearby waterhole.  Certainly the rowdy busload of teenagers from Bendigo were silenced by its appearance.  It wandered around drinking and foraging and was totally unconcerned by its multitude of human admirers.  Interestingly, we had only once before seen a dingo in the wild – and that was over 20 years ago – but on our way back to Alice Springs, we came across another one foraging by the side of the road.

Dingo at Ormiston Gorge

Finke River at Glen Helen Gorge

Mt Sonder near the western end of the West MacDonnell Ranges

Posted from Alice Springs