Tuesday 31 July 2018

Southern Flinders Ranges Coast

Leaving Port Augusta and heading 65km south along the Spencer Gulf coast we came to Port Germein, a beautiful coastal village with a long wooden jetty. The jetty was once the longest in the Southern Hemisphere, and was built in 1888. The lighthouse was once located at the end of jetty and is now located at the start of the jetty, along with an interesting tidal clock.
The first European to arrive in the area was Matthew Flinders in 1802. The name of the port comes from the Germein brothers, who discovered the inlet in 1840. First settlers cleared the land for grazing and crops, and this lead to the need for a port and the development of the town. It was declared a port in 1841. There is a great covered BBQ area adjacent to the beach, and an indoor stage in “The Shed”. The shed is a local icon, and meeting place for locals. It was once used as storage for wool leaving on the ships from the jetty and housing the steam engine that ran along the main street to the shed. A lovely little town with much more to see.
A further 25km along the coast is Port Pirie. A larger town than Port Germein, its main feature is the large grain silos visible from a distance. Originally called Samuel's Creek after Samuel Germein who discovered the muddy creek. In 1845 the first vessel, 'John Pirie' navigated the creek to load sheep from nearby runs, and in 1846 Port Pirie Creek was named by Governor Robe. Land was purchased in 1848 by Matthew Smith and Emanuel Solomon and half was put aside for a township, but little development took place. The town was surveyed in 1871, but development didn't take off until silver, lead, and zinc bearing ore was discovered at Broken Hill in 1883, and with the completion of the narrow gauge railway from Broken Hill to Port Pirie completed in 1888, and the construction of a smelter in 1889, the town began grow quickly. By 1934, Port Pirie had the biggest lead smelter in the world. There are a lot of historical buildings, however we didn't spend a lot of time in Port Pirie, as we wanted to head to our overnight site.

Friday 27 July 2018

Day Trip to the Flinders Ranges

A number of day trips can be taken from Port Augusta. We only did one to Quorn, about 40km from Port Augusta, in the Flinders Ranges. Quorn is a lovely village, it is thought that the Nugunu Aborigines lived here prior to European settlement in 1875. Early properties were mostly wheat and sheep, as they are today. The town was surveyed in 1878 and named after Quorndon in Leicestershire. The town developed with the coming of the Great Northern Railway in 1879. Our first stop was the Old Railway Station which is also the information centre. One can pick up a historical walk pamphlet and walk around the town. The railway also has working railway yards out the back and a small museum attached. The track from here to Port Augusta is the only remaining original Ghan railway track. Known as the Pichi Richi Railway, it operates half day, and full day trips in historic carriages, some original Ghan carriages, weekends and school holidays.
Leaving the Railway Station, we walked past many old buildings. The heritage walk pamphlet tells the history of many of the buildings, including the oldest still standing stone building in the town, the Quandong Cafe. The corner shop, now a cafe/museum, has been many different establishments over the years, including a CWA that served tea and scone to the soldiers during WWII.
A lot of movies have been made in Quorn: Walk About (1952); Robbery Under Arms (1956); The Sundowners (1960); Sunday Too Far Away (1975); Gallipoli (1980); The Shiralee (1987). We went met a lovely lady in the Arts and crafts shop – where I bought some fabric (of course) – who told us a lot of history about the area. The shop is leased by the council and is one shop in a row of about three that is 1895 housed the newspaper Quorn Mercury. Find out more about the history of Quorn here.
We then decided to do another loop around the area to visit some ruins and an historical grave. First stop was to find somewhere for lunch, which we did at Warren Gorge. We saw a couple of wallabies and many happy campers. This area is also a bush camp. So lovely and quiet. We left the sealed road and headed around a gravel road, past ruins to Hugh Proby's grave. A sad story, Hugh Proby took up a pastoral lease of Kanyaka on 1st July 1851, at the age of 22 years, after only a few months in South Australia. Born in Derbyshire, Hugh arrived with a friend, and they built a number of timber huts (not the stone ruins we see today) around the property. One night in August 1852, a thunderstorm struck and unsettled the cattle so Hugh and another stockman rode out to settle the cattle. Along with the thunderstorm, came flash flooding in Willochra Creek. While attempting to cross the creek, Hugh was swept from his horse and he drowned. His grave is not far from where he drowned. He was 24 years old. Six years after his death his family sent out the large Scottish granite stone and had it taken to the grave from Port Augusta by bullock team.
Driving along the gravel road with nothing but plains on either side of the highway we came to Simmonston Ruins. Simmonston was surveyed 1872 and was one of six locations proposed for the railway to come through. Some enterprising entrepreneurs decided to start building a town and tried to sell of plots 'at a bargain price. A two storey hotel was started and also a general store across the road, but neither were finished as word came through that the railway would not be coming that way. We were then back on the sealed Flinders Ranges Highway, heading back to Port Augusta.

Thursday 26 July 2018

Port Augusta – Top of the Gulf

The road to Port Augusta was long and mostly straight. We passed many more salt lakes and arrived in Port Augusta early afternoon. It was lovely to see a large mass of water after the dry 'red centre'. We set up at the Sports Club Motorhome Park and went to get the gas bottle filled, now that we are back in civilisation :) The RV Park filled up quickly, so we are glad that we got there early. The sites are marked by white posts, so everyone has a designated area. There is a dump point, and drinking water, but no toilets – except when the club is opened. It is located behind a high wire fence but has an open gate. Cost is $7 per night, and meals are served Wednesday to Saturday at the club. A great place to unhitch and explore the area. We stayed 4 nights and met some lovely people, including a couple we met at Easter in Lynhurst, near Bathurst. We had a wonderful dinner at the club with friends on Wednesday night. Well worth it.
In 1802 Matthew Flinders named the Spencer Gulf in his journey to find a water way between New Holland and New South Wales. Flinders named Mt Brown, Mt Arden, Point Lowly, and Curlew Point.
Edward John Eyre passed through the area in 1839/40. Settlers began to farm the area in the 1840's and by 1851 pastoral leases were granted. Port Augusta was named by A. L. Elder on 24th May, 1852, after Augusta Sophia Marryat who married the Governor of South Australia. We walked around the town and it was sad to see the old buildings with windows broken and not being used. Very sad when so much money has been spent in other areas.
Wadlata Centre is the local information centre, and the lady there was very helpful. There is a coffee shop and gift area as well. There is a little bit of Ghan history outside, and an Outback Centre 'Time Tunnel' which takes one from the land of the traditional owners right through to today.
We did some shopping in Coles, but there is also a Wollies and Target and Big W, as well as 'Cheap as Chips' – wish they were in Queensland. Port Augusta is the biggest town we have been to this trip since Brisbane. There is a beautiful mural with 2500 hand painted tiles which tell the story of Port Augusta.
There is a heritage walk around town and many history boards with old photos placed to show the old and the new. Very interesting. There is a lot of art work also in and around the town.

Wednesday 25 July 2018

Salt Lakes and Rockets

I had a few sites picked out along the road to Woomera, intending to stay about half way. The sites were ok, but we decided to keep going. We came to Glendambo, 252km south of Coober Pedy, that consisted of a few houses, two petrol stations, a caravan park and not a lot more. However, the roadhouse is made of natural materials and served as a station homestead and wool shed.
We did pull off the road at a lake that had 4 stars, and it was beautiful. We were thinking of staying a few days. It was right on the lake – a salt lake and absolutely beautiful. Then we found out it was army land – no signs up, but others had been asked to leave by the army, so we continued on.
So further down the road, 327km from Coober Pedy we came to Lake Hart. Lake Hart provided a thriving industry in the 1930's. First investigated in 1918, and estimated to be over three million tons, a Sydney company – Commonwealth Salt Refining Company – began with a small operation for testing. Salt was sent to Adelaide for refining, and was found to of a high quality that a large scale operation was put in place, including a refining plant and rail tracks. All that remains today is remnants of a light rail system. A number of vans came in after us, so we were fortunate to choose a spot that did not allow anyone to block our view. We had a spectacular sunset.
Even Peter liked the sunset.
Next morning it was a short drive to Woomera, 8km off the highway and north of Pimba, Woomera, was established in 1947 as a site for the launching of British experimental rockets. From 1947 to about 1980, the site was used to develop and test rockets. It was opened to the public in 1982 and is under the control of the Australian Military. It was like a ghost town. Everything is neat and tidy, lawns mowed, everything in its place, BUT there are no people – other than the tourists like us and their vans. Very eerie. There is a square on the main street that has interesting rockets on display. The history museum was suppose to be worthwhile, but it was closed when we were there and there were no opening times listed.
The information centre is around the corner and looks like it was, or can be a good place. The Bowling alley was shut, there was not a lot of food available, and the coffee was ok. A small history of Woomera display – was very well done. The museum, $6 each, we chose not to go through as we heard unflattering comments about it, and the staff were not interested. We then headed to the road to cemetery. It was blocked. We had read there were a lot of still born babies in the 1950's and 60's, and no official explanations. An interesting place, worth a visit.
We travelled back the 8 km to Pimba and stayed next to Spud's Roadhouse at the Lion's Park – a donation camp with tables and toilets. Spuds offers meals and drinks in its bar. It lies at the junction of the roads to Coober Pedy, Roxby Downs, and Oodnadatta. It is the first petrol station from Port Augusta, and so is very busy. Water $1 for 5 litres. Petrol $1.69. Coffee $7.
 

Monday 23 July 2018

Opal Capital of the World - Coober Pedy

Almost halfway between Alice Springs (689km) and Adelaide (846km) is Coober Pedy, the Opal Capital of Australia. Coober Pedy is unique in that it boasts many underground houses and also a multicultural population. There are over 45 different nationalities, including Aboriginal, in Coober Pedy. The area was covered by a sea 150 million years ago, and for many thousands of years the Aboriginal people, leading a nomadic life, walked across the area in search of food and water. John McDouall Stuart was the first European to explore the area in 1858.
Originally known as Stuart Range Opal Field, opal was first discovered here in 1914 by a young lad named Willie Hutchinson who was a 14 year old member of a gold prospecting party. He was searching for water, which he found, but he also came back with a bag full of opal. The party worked the area for a number of years before the first opal rush took place in 1919. In 1920 a post office was established and a new name needed to be found, as Stuart Range was to similar to Stewart Range in Western Australia. At a meeting it was decided to use the Aboriginal words for 'white man in a hole' and Coober Pedy was born. With many soldiers returning from WWI and the trenches to mine, the miners found that living underground was more pleasant, especially in summer, and the underground houses became the norm. Today about 50% of the population live underground.
First day, after checking in to The Opal Inn, we had a drive around to get the lay of the land. The Opal Inn was recommended by many other travellers we met along the way. We had a good powered site $35 per night. Water one has to pay for. Lack of water is an issue in Coober Pedy. It is only the second place in our travels that we have had to pay for water ($1 for 40 litres). In the early years the government built a 2,000,000 litre tank in 1924 and water was rationed.
Driving around it was plain to see there are many opal stores, with some very pretty settings. We drove down the main street, stopping at the Opal Cave Shop to see the 'space ship'. This was a prop left over from a movie “Pitch Black” made in 2000. It looks like the spaceship has crash landed outside the shop. We didn't intent to go into the opal shop, but did as it is built into the side of a hill and is 'underground. Really interesting.
We next drove past the Drive-in, it didn't look like it would be opened anytime soon, however in the information centre there was a poster about a NAIDOC celebration of food stalls and a movie being screened that afternoon/night. We ended up going up a hill to see the weirdest art work and 'the big winch'. This is a 8m structure first built in the 1970's, and rebuilt after a fire in 1986. The Big Winch overlooks Coober Pedy.
Info centre was strange. Only one person manning a counter that appeared to be more council related. The info desk was un-manned and there was not lot of information around. I had to get the historical society leaflet from the back of the desk – no one to ask for it.
The next day we walked down the main street to the oldest underground church, St Peter and St Paul Catholic Church. The first church in Coober Pedy was dug out in 1967, with the beautiful stain glassed window being included in the 1984 extensions. It is set in a square with a number of historic information boards about the history of the town and opals.
After leaving the church, we met Stephen, an Aboriginal who introduced himself, had a chat, and then asked to borrow money. During the next few days we saw many local Aboriginals doing the same thing.
We walked down the street to Umoona Opal Mine and Museum. This is a must see in Coober Pedy. First, outside is one of the first underground houses in Coober Pedy owned and dug by George Burford and is heritage listed. Umoona means 'tree of life' and the Umoona Community was established to aid the settlement of indigenous people. Next walking into the museum, and it is free, there is a great display of the history of the area, with models and photographs. There is a great display of handmade tools and handicrafts. As one walks through each section, do both sides before going into the next section. I made the mistake of doing one side, thinking that we would be coming out the way we went in, but we didn't (although one can). The next section is the ancient history, when the land was covered by the Great Inland Sea, and dinosaurs roamed. Very interesting. There is an Aboriginal Interpretive Centre, that was closed to the public, as was the mine and house tour. I think it was because the Ghan train was in and running tours. We had look at the opal shop and a short video about opal miners and then went out a back door that took us to a lookout on top of the hill. Everything we had seen was underground. A really well displayed museum. Museum is free, and guided tours cost $12.
Back up the hill, past the turning for the big winch, is the Catacomb Church. This Anglican church made use of an old dugout and opened in 1977. It is in the shape of a cross, and named after the Catacombs in Rome. It was very simple but so beautiful. The alter was made out of an old winch, and even has the bucket used to bring up the rock. The cross, made of mulga wood sticks and the painted shadow on the back wall enhanced the simplicity.
We went to the first police station and cells, the 'free' noodling area – such a great idea, and the original water tank. We drove around the other side of town and then went up to see the Dingo Fence. The Dog Fence is the longest continual fence in the world, stretching 5,300 kms, from east of the Gold Coast, Queensland, to Ceduna, South Australia. It was originally build to protect sheep from the native dogs.
Lastly we went to the cemetery at Boot Hill. The first cemetery at Coober Pedy was established in 1921 and is closer to town. This one is a short distance south of town.
We had heard that there were some characters buried in the cemetery, so went to look - and yes there were some interesting graves.
 
We went past the large wind turbines that were installed in 1991 and presently supplies 4% of the towns power. An interesting place Coober Pedy. We went to so many little quirky places, and there are more that we didn't see. Lovely sunny days and cold cold nights ... and red dust everywhere!

Saturday 21 July 2018

...Bound for South Australia...

Leaving the next day we had planned to stay at Kernot Range Rest Area but Peter wanted to keep going to another camp – that we couldn't find, so ended up driving back to the Stuart Highway and heading south to the border. We filled up at a quirkey Kulgera Roadhouse. The settlement of Kulgera developed from Kulgera Station, 1927, and the Coulthard family. The name came from the local Pitjantjatjara Aboriginal name for an outcrop of granite nearby. The station developed a petrol station and grocery store to service the area. The service area has been sold a number of times over the years.
We got to the border rest area just before all the other happy campers, so got a good spot. Lucky us. We had driven about 400km today – a long drive for us.
The next morning we drove about 130km to the next free camp – Tarcoonyinna Rest Area. We stopped at one, Agnes River, which was great, but no internet and we wanted to find out how things were going at home, so went to another camp further down the road. We also decided that we would book into Cobber Pedy to make sure we got a powered site.
Next morning, after downloading the mail, we continued to Marla about 60km down the highway. Not much here. A Police Station, caravan park and a roadhouse. So many vans have stopped here. There is a small supermarket where we picked up some milk and tuna (a small tin of salmon – 80g - was $6). We then to look at the Oodnadatta Track. Oh my goodness, the corrugations started just after leaving Marla. Not a track for us and our van.
Again we got to the camp I had chosen but Peter didn't feel comfortable there so we had a look at another one 8km down the road. No good. Another 8km down the road and we came to Pootnoura Creek Channel 2 camp site. The track in is very bumpy, but there was already another van so we set up near by. One the advantages of getting to sites early in the day is that lunch can be van-made scones. 
Later in the afternoon another two vans came in.
Next morning we continued the short distance to Coober Pedy.

Monday 16 July 2018

Uluru Field of Light

The last night we did a tour 'Field of Lights', The Field of Light is an installation by Bruce Munro, and is over 50,000 stems of light that change colours. A very pretty display of colour, but we were disappointed that the full effect of the display could not be seen if one paid the basic cost of $42 per adult – a Field of Light “Pass”. We pre-booked the tour, and it does get booked out quickly. For $42 the price includes return transfers, entrance, self-guided walk, a souvenir booklet, and is approximately 2 hours, including transfers. We were picked up at 6.45pm and after picking up at other accommodation we arrived at Field of Lights at 7.05. We then had to wait for two buses to unload before being lead down a dark path to the lights. 
After being told the rules, which included two buses will leave at 8pm and one bus at 8.30pm – it was 7.15 by then, so we had 45 minutes or 75 minutes to get back to the bus.
The area is suppose to be equivalent to almost seven football fields. The paths we were instructed to follow were the short or the long. We went the long and we were finished by 7.45 – so I doubt that the paths we were told to walk along showed the full “almost seven football fields”.
The installation would be better seen from a viewing platform! 
Our total time from pick up to drop off was 95 minutes – far short of the '2 hours' advertised. We were very disappointed, and would not recommend the $42 tour. Included in the price was to be a souvenir booklet. The bus driver knew nothing about it, the tour guide knew nothing about it. I went to the information centre the following morning before we left and the lovely lady there said we were suppose to pick them up from the accommodation - but not the campground, so she said to go to the accommodation next door. They were quite rude and refused to give us one because we didn't stay there. They suggested 'Sails in the Dessert' next door, and they happily gave us one. It is a little booklet with the installation details that one can not remember from the short talk the night before. Very disorganised.
We did like the patterns the path lights made.
To see the display in its splendour, one needs to pay $90 per adult for a 'Star Pass' to get the dune top view, which would allow one to see it from above. This $90 pass also includes canapes and a drink. There is also a $75 'Sunrise' tour which includes the same as $42, and adds tea, coffee, or hot chocolate.... mmm … get up in the freezing cold (was 1 degree at 6am) .. for an extra $33! The next price is $209 for a 'Star Pass' added to a sunset camel ride (normally $132). There is also a $250 'Night at Field of Light' that includes a lovely dinner – if we could have afforded it this would have been the one!! Camel and dinner experience is $385. There are also flight tours $$$$. 
It could be an incredible light show. The lights were pretty, but the $42 tour is certainly not worth it - $20 maybe. Disappointing 😞