Pets in the Port

There are only two caravan parks in Port Augusta and naturally we chose the one with water views. We thought it would be nice to sit out and admire the view. It’s a pet friendly park which is not unusual these days. There are many people travelling with dogs, both big and small.  ( A couple we met in Coober Pedy were heading up to a dog show in Alice.)

Our lovely site!

Our site is probably the worst site we have had all trip even though the proprietor told Pete when he booked in that it was a nice shady site. There is not a skerrick of grass and we overlook a couple of permanent looking rather derelict looking caravans. Nothing unusual about that. Except that, the air conditioning goes all day in both vans. The door is only opened when someone goes in or out. The windows are all blocked out. Rarely does anyone go in or out.

The van on the left has the snake, the
one on the right has cats!

In one lives a man and a boy and a large snake. Yes- a snake which the man had draped around his neck this morning giving it some sun.  Later in the morning he was seen draining some liquid through a tube out of the door of the caravan and into a bucket. He took that back inside and repeated the process. What the! In the other lives another man and his cats. This afternoon they were let out to eat. About 5pm the two men headed off with fishing rods together. The boy has remained inside the van all day.

Under the blue tarp is the mobility scooter. We had a sprinkle of rain so it was covered when I went to photograph it!
 

Then there are the two guys who live in a tent over the back from us. One has pink hair, the other drives a mobility scooter  which is parked near the door of the tent. Both appear to be aged  in their  mid twenties.  No vehicle – guessing they are permanents too.

Who needs water views when you have such interesting characters to watch?

In fairness to Port Augusta, there were some awesome water views especially from Matthew Flinders' Lookout

It’s a Gem of a place – Coober Pedy

After the spectacular beauty of Wilpena Pound, the stunning scenery of Sky Trek and the Flinders Ranges in general, I thought the trip from Woomera to Coober Pedy would be a little boring. However, we have been very fortunate that there has been significant rain here in the Coober Pedy  area and whilst the landscape is relatively flat, there is green everywhere.  The lakes are full and the water very blue-a truly unusual sight for this part of Australia at this time of the year. The shopkeepers in Coober Pedy  tell us that they had 5 inches of rain in one day and some of the mines had 2 metres of water in them. No wonder the Oodnadatta track was closed, and many of the dirt roads around here still are.

Coober Pedy Moonscape

Woomera was a bit of a non-event. Apart from a few pieces of memorabilia in the main street from the past Rocket Range activities of the 1950’s , there was little else to see. Roxby Downs was interesting – a young mining town, planned and well  laid out. It was a little disappointing that we were unable to take a tour of the mine (booked out) as it seems to be very different from other mines and its size would have been something to see. Security is tight in Roxby so you are not even able to drive close enough to get a bird’s eye view.

Pete at The Breakaways

Coober Pedy, on the other hand, is a real gem. So many different facets to the town. There’s the moonscape on the way in to the town where the land is littered with stockpiles of  dirt from small individual opal diggings to the larger mines where machinery reigns. Then there’s the myriad of shops all selling opal jewelry, each offering much the same stock. Op shops are situated throughout the town along with a few “greasy Joe” type eateries.  All this is set in a backdrop of sculptured hills underneath which you will find the underground homes, motels, restaurants, opal retailers and churches.

Front door to an underground home

It took us about  an hour to walk up and down the main street, stopping  to look in a couple of the opal shops, some a cut above the rest and of course those are the ones where I have spied some pieces that I might like to purchase.

Underground Church - Serbian

Tomorrow, we have booked a five hour tour of the town and its surrounds which includes some amazing landscapes such as The Breakaways, a visit to an underground house and church , a mine and of course, the mandatory retailers. Poor me, I’ll just have to suffer the shopping bit.

Pete is looking forward to the break from driving having driven 4000km already. I am looking forward to some fabulous photo opportunities and of course some retail therapy.

Retail Therapy at the same place I bought the opals in 1973
- you will have to guess what I bought!

I last visited Coober Pedy on a College bus tour in 1973. I had only just met Pete and he gave me $25 to spend on the trip. I chose to purchase three opals at an underground shop in the centre of Coober Pedy .  I had originally intended to have the  two blue stones set into earrings and the solid white opal into a ring. However, I changed my mind, and for my 21^st, Pete had the stones set into a ring for me.  Still one of my favourites – the ring that is.  And Pete, well he’s a gem too.

Bustling Blinman- While Shepherds watched....

Bustling Blinman from the top of the mine site.

A shepherd by the name of Blinman was watching his sheep in 1859 when he discovered an outcrop of copper ore. Too poor to pay the ten pounds for the lease, he asked 3 mates to join him and they purchased the lease together. Four years later they sold the lease to a Mining company for 17 thousand pounds.  Now that’s what I call a good investment!



View from our campsite at Alpana Station

Today the town of Blinman is totally run by the 15 people who live there. They don’t belong to any council and everything that happens in the town is determined by the Progress Association which also includes people from the neighbouring stations. To say that these people know how to work together is an understatement. This little town is thriving - can't get a park in the main street. The mine tour is second to none and our tour guide told the history of the mine from the heart. She and the other townsfolk had spent 15 years getting the mine safe and tourist friendly.

Apart from the mine tour, there is much to do in and around Blinman. The hotel, most of which is original, was packed with tourists enjoying lunch and  the Wild Lime Café  (owned by a couple with dreadlocks who would look more at home in Nimbin), where we chose to have coffee was well patronized also.  Scenic drives past historic buildings associated with mining and pastoralists, were everywhere.  A short trip took us out to Brachina Gorge – a geologically significant site here in the Flinders.  

So don’t underestimate the small towns.  Unlike the shepherd Blinman, you could really miss something valuable if you don’t keep your eyes open.

In for a Penny, in for a Pound

 

Well it’s not exactly a penny to camp here at Wilpena , in fact it’s the dearest powered site we’ve had. However, it is Easter and the park is packed with families mostly camping in large groups. It’s the ideal place – plenty of places for kids to ride their bikes, make campfires and generally enjoy the outdoors. For us, it’s also the noisiest campsite but it is happy noise. The excitement of the kids in the park is evident. I can’t wait til the Easter Bunny delivers chocolate to stir them all up some more.

In for a Pound – Wilpena Pound and that’s exactly what we walked for  4 hours this morning to see. The initial part of the walk was an easy stroll along the riverbank to the Hills Cottage. The size of the River Red Gums is very impressive and it’s hard not to photograph every tree that you come across on the walk. The  last 800 metres was a steep climb to Wangarra Lookout which gives you a pretty amazing view of the Pound. I have realized that I am not fit but perhaps more fit than a lot of the people our age who were walking this morning also.

The Old Wilpena Homestead was a little less impressive. Lucky they gave us Senior’s discount to view the Homestead and the old buildings associated with the pastoral activities of the late 19^th Century.  “In for a penny” would be more like it.

They say "Blue and green should never be seen."

  

Amazing Sky Arkaroola Station

But Mother Nature has better ideas. We have seen some amazing skies and because of recent rains, much of the desert is covered in green. There are so many different greens – blue gum green, wattle green, grass green, vibrant green, yellow green, spinifex green,  light green, dark green, all kinds of green. Makes me wonder which green people talk about when they say green.  So when the incredible blue of the desert sky  meets green (whatever that is)  on the horizon, it makes a spectacular picture especially when the unmistakable rusty red of the landforms in Central Australia  is added to the mix. Here are some of my favourite blue and green “paintings”from the past few days.


Waterhole beside the road near Clayton Station on the Birdsville Track

Brolga on the plains beside the Birdsville Track

Billabong near our caravan site at  Mungarannie Hotel

These magnificent birds nests are everywhere on the Birdsville Track



Barrarannna Gorge at Arkaroola Station







Birdsville – more than just Big Red

 

Letting the tyres down for the dirt road

Despite the fact that conquering Big Red was one of the main reasons we ventured to Birdsville this trip, we found many other attractions here to explore.

The Racetrack is impressive  - much bigger than I expected and I’m very glad that I am not sharing the dust beside the track with 8000 others  at the moment. Don’t even want to think about what it would be like to camp beside the track in September at race time. I much prefer my air conditioned caravan with a few other campers nearby.

Sign says it all

Birdsville Race Club

Just a little out of town is a patch of Waddi Trees – not particularly impressive to look at but when you know that the trees can live over 1000 years ,

At the Birdsville Pub

the bark is so hard it doesn’t burn and you can’t drive a nail into it, you get the feeling  you have experienced something unique.  With a tip off from some travelers we met in the pub the previous night, we took a track near the Waddi Trees out to some other landforms. Here people have “graffitied” the area with words written with rocks. From on top of the landform, there is also a spectacular view of the surrounding district. Bonus.



You have to have a beer at the Birdsville Pub

Despite the dry, there is plenty of water in town from the Artesian Bore that pumps  a    day. The water is very hot and is sent to cooling towers before being  diverted to supply the town.

And a camel pie at the Bakery!

The Diamantina River is flowing well and the billabong beside the caravan park is quite full. Kids were swimming and canoeing there this morning. As you travel out this way, you can see why it is called the Channel Country. You cross many channels on your way, and at the moment, they are obvious due to the very green patches where the water is still lying. These same channels may mean we have to go back to Quilpie tomorrow instead of down the Birdsville track to Marree as they have had significant rain down that way and up until today, the roads have been closed. We are waiting on any travelers arriving here tonight from that direction to give us the heads up on the track.

Burke and Wills- What were they thinking?

Our car and the view from the top of Big Red

 

The start of the road into the Simpson Desert

No wonder they died. Out here, you are miles from nowhere and everywhere you look is , well – its flat, with a little vegetation . I can understand how the early explorers were fooled by mirages. You get that way when you are driving these long dusty roads, that a shrub in the distance looks like and oncoming car.  I can’t imagine walking to Birdsville like Burke and Wills – just the flies alone are enough to drive you crazy. Yesterday we stopped to look at the Burke and Wills Tree just outside of the town. Nothing spectacular in itself but a reminder  that a lot of blood sweat and tears went into exploring this vast country.

Having said that, Birdsville is an extraordinary place.  Best known for the annual Birdsville races, Birdsville also carries with it a lot of history, stunning landscape, interesting features and of course Big Red where we ventured this morning.



Hooray I did it! Pete at top of Big Red

It’s very early in the tourist season here- in fact, the famous Bakery only opened again this week having been closed over the summer. So on our way out to Big Red, there were no other cars to be seen. A little disconcerting for me as I always catastrophise (as my kids will tell you.) – what if …..

The view from the top of the highest part of the dune



We stopped by Little Red  (the smaller dune) to let the tyres down to 18 psi (while I quickly made a runner - yes I did sort of ‘’run” Andrew, Ari and Ellie, to the top of the dune to check out what was on the other side.) They say all vehicles should carry a flag to alert anyone coming from the opposite direction as the track over the dune is single lane, but we didn’t have one. Luckily for us there was no one around today, so it was pretty safe. When you get to the top of the dune, it is necessary to stop suddenly to check out which is the safest way down. Too easy says Pete. Looked like a sand cliff to me!!

Helen at the top



Back on flat land, we are surrounded by red rocks, millions of them. And then Big Red comes into view. This side of the sandhill looks steep and soft.  Too high for me to do a quick run to the top to see if I will actually ride in the car or “volunteer” to video from up top.  So we take a bit of a  run up and off we go. Getting there seemed too easy and I videoed from inside the car. You will have to excuse a little bit of language at the end of the video. 

Helen



That's Pete somewhere up there!

Definitely needs to be on your bucket list. The dune itself is very impressive, the view from the top amazing,  particularly as the surrounding landscape was green from recent rains, the patterns in the sand incredible and being there by ourselves was also a real treat.  Standing on top of Big Red, in the Outback, alone.  Awesome!



This is the pattern in the dune at the very top. Amazing