Adelaide to Ceduna via Port Pirie, Port Augusta, Kimba and Streaky Bay
Day 19 - Sunday, 18 April 2010
After a good night at Scotty's Comfort Inn, (http://www.scottysmotel.com.au/), we spent today browsing Adelaide and environs, starting with a trip up Mt Lofty, as suggested by the lad who restocked our motel room. We are grateful for that advice. the views from the top are panoramic, and well worth the trip.
There is an obelisk at the summit, which looks like a lighthouse, but isn't. It was erected as a surveying reference point in 1902, 100 years after Mt Lofty was named by Matthew Flinders.
The Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens are benefiting from the change to autumn colours:
After returning to Adelaide proper, we cruised around looking at the sights of the city, and Adelaide has many to offer. It is known as the city of churches, and one particularly fine example is St Peter's Cathedral:
Another item of particular interest is the National War Memorial (South Australia), which was the subject of some controversy, because a major part of the work was the very fine angel relief carvings sculpted by German sculptor Julius Henschke. As Germany had been the main enemy power during the war, anti-German sentiment was still a problem in the1920s and '30s, when the memorial was being created. Some folk did not want Henschke to play a part in its creation. Fortunately, common sense prevailed, and Julius' contribution can be seen today, in a dominant location on North Terrace, Adelaide:
- B
Day 20 - Monday, 19 April 2010
Left Adelaide, as usual, at about 9.30am, having decided on going to Port Augusta, via Port Pirie. As we were flying along on our way to Port Pirie, we passed yet again another huge windfarm off in the distance. This is the third one we have passed since the Great Ocean Road. It makes one wonder why we don't have them all around our coast line. The blurb in one of the tourist brochures said that the last windfarm we saw was saving the same amount of polution that 70,000 cars would produce for a year. That's a bit overpowering!
We arrived in Port Pirie, which is a very proud smelter town. Stopped to get one of B's prescriptions filled and he asked the chemist if there was an RSL club in town. She said that there was the BH Community Club opposite, so over we went and had a lovely, cheap lunch in a very old club. They are proud of their history of putting on a picnic every year for the last 100 plus years not just for the staff of the smelter, but for the whole community. They have heaps of very old photos on their walls, which B. took a great deal of pleasure in photographing.
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The whole Pirie community look forward to the annual smelter's picnic
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Port Pirie Grammar School - this picture was not dated
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Port Pirie to Port Augusta - the mountains were imposing, and the clouds were three dimensional
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After leaving the Club, absolutely stuffed to the gills, we drove around Port Pirie for a little, then on to Port Augusta, where we signed in for the night at yet another Golden Chain motel, Augusta Courtyard Motel:
We finally remembered to ask for a Senior's Discount, and the receptionist was surprised that the other Golden Chain motels we had stayed at hadn't offered the discounts before. As a result, she gave us a membership card, which Bernard is now carrying, and which automatically gives us 10% discount, plus the Golden Chain booklet with all the motels listed. It has a page where each motel can put a stamp. After accumulating 3 stamps, we post the page off and to enter a competition with $1,400 worth of accommodation plus $1,400 cash as a prize. She gave us two stamps because we hadn't been told about it before. Then we got to our room and found it really very good. She also gave us a complimentary continental breakfast!
- J
Day 21 - Tuesday, 20 April, 2010
Today, after our lovely free breakfast, we decided to check out the Wadlata Outback Centre, (http://www.wadlata.sa.gov.au/), where we spent a really interesting 4 hours, checking out all the displays, interactive videos and fossils, then a nice light lunch. As the time seemed to get away from us a bit, we decided we would head for a little place called Kimba, which the inhabitants advertise is 'Half Way across Australia'.
They also are proud of their 'Big Galah'.
We are now in the Kimba Motel, which the lady in the Augusta Courtyard Motel told us was a new Golden Chain member. It turned out to be attached to a Mobil servo and caravan park. The servo is the only supplier of petrol in the area. The bloke who owns it has only owned it for 8 months, the electricity blacked out just as we arrived because of a huge storm that had hit further north, so we now have a generator supplying us with electricity and no TV.
- J
Day 22 - Wednesday, 21 April, 2010
You know you're in the country, when you wake up and hear a rooster crowing, and a willie wag tail singing, "Sweet, pretty, little creature."
- J
We visited the Kimba Outback Community Museum this morning - a number of old outback buildings, and rural equipment, tractors, farm machinery. We were shown about the place by one of the locals, several of whom take it in turns to do duty as hosts. It was a real trip down memory lane, with a country store, and a one-teacher school stocked and furnished just as they used to be.
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Kimba Museum's one-teacher school
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Kimba Museum's one-teacher school
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The kids sat in neat rows, and were not allowed to talk in class, unless answering a question from the teacher! The student who was designated 'inkwell monitor' would mix ink powder with water, and use the resulting ink to fill the inkwells.
We are now in Streaky Bay, where the one motel had no rooms left, so we are occupying a 'villa', which sleeps 4 in absolute luxury, with two king-size bedrooms, and leather-furnished lounge room, a dining room with a table for six, and a separate kitchen, and of course, a bathroom. It is costing us $140 for the night. ouch!
Ceduna tomorrow, then off across the Nullarbor.
- B
Day 23 - 22 April, 2010
Bernard forgot to say that the villa we spent the night in is brand new, and we are the first to use it. It's beautiful. Everything is very modern, and up to date - but, everything is also built for a 6 foot tall person. The shower head is so high up, when I turned it on, the water hit me in the face and I had trouble reaching it to adjust it. The beds, while very new and huge, are as hard as a rock. I think I only got about 3 hours sleep. So, there you go - luxury is not always the best.
Anyway, we finally set off, as usual, at about 9.30am. Not only did I not get much sleep in our very posh unit, but the rock mattress has irritated my hip and it keeps spasming, so we have only gone as far as Ceduna today (approx 120 kms). Once we got onto the Eyre Highway just outside Streaky Bay, the road was dead straight for about 100 kms. In fact, due to my lack of sleep, I had to pull over and ask B. to drive, as I started to doze off. Most unusual, I know.
We arrived in Ceduna in time for lunch, but too early to book into our motel, Ceduna Motor Inn, so, as B. wanted to have the tyres checked before starting off over the Nullarbor, we found a Bridgestone garage and the bloke there checked them all, and gave us the thumbs up at no cost. Also advised us to go to the local pub for lunch, which turned out to be really good advice.
After lunch, we had a quick drive around Ceduna, fantastic views of the gulf. We then checked into our room,and found out that, like a few other motels, we didn't get a microwave, which we want because we both like our coffee made on milk, so, we decided to go and get ourselves a small microwave that we could keep in the car for when we need it. So we now have a lovely little microwave for only $99. Very extravagant, isn't it?
Tomorrow, we set off across the Nullarbor...
- J
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