Australia Dec 2013

Travelogue 16 Stage 3
South Australia
  

Pelicans, Streaky Bay

Once in South Australia, via the Nullarbor Plain, the scenery changes from that of scrubby desert to vast tracts of grains - rolling plains of golden wheat, barley or canola stretching to the horizon, each perhaps 300 to 700 hectares.  At times, one would drive into a small town totally reliant on the grain crops, with huge silos first seen from a distance. This year's bumper grain crop is expected to produce over 650 million tonnes, a record for many years, and the small towns are busy with the comings and goings of loaded road trains.

Streaky Bay, Eyre Peninsula

After leaving Ceduna on November 9th, it was on to Streaky Bay in the Eyre Peninsula for a bit of coastal relaxation. Though picturesque,after two nights the freezing southerly wind meant we decided to head inland for a bit more warmth.  We cut across the top of the Peninsula, stopping two nights at Kimba, a small town overshadowed by the usual huge silos.This pleasant town is noted as being the Halfway Town, being 'halfway' between Sydney and Perth by road, so a mandatory photo at the decaying Halfway Sign is required.

Kimba's halfway sign- I'm pointing at Kimba on the map

Iron Knob mine pit -90 metres to the bottom

From Kimba, it was on to Iron Knob, where we'd been told of a free campsite in the heart of the town.  Iron Knob was a step back into Australia's history, almost straight out of a western movie. The settlement appears abandoned, derelict houses with closed doors, weedy streets backdropped by a giant hill of red ore - last vestiges of a once thriving open cast iron mine. We strolled up the main street, where even the dogs were too tired to bark, past the 1950s swimming pool now filled in with gravel, past the defunct picture theatre, to the visitor centre where at last we found life. The staff there were friendly and suggested we go on the mine tour, the cost being whatever we wished to pay.   Being the only ones there we felt they'd surely need more people, but nothing was too much trouble. A phone call and a few minutes later a dusty Toyota Hiace pulled up, emblazoned in the sign -" Iron Knob Mine Tours"  The dust settled, we clambered aboard and were off. Chasing emus up the main street, we then started up the hill where our driver (who turned out to be the father of the visitor centre staff) asked us to open locked gates to allow his coach to get to the top.  Once  there, it was a spectacular view into the bowels of this hill which had been drilled and blasted to extract the ore. This mine is now defunct, but with modern machinery there are hopes to re-open the mine. The townsfolk live with this hope. Their wait could be a long time.

Whyalla lookout over Spencer Gulf

Whyalla is on the east coast of the Eyre Peninsula, a large and thriving town some 70 kms from Iron Knob. Here again is city life - malls, traffic lights, etc. We stayed here five nights, allowing caravanning friends from New Zealand to catch up with us.  The coastal winds still blew ferociously and travelling north, we were almost blown on to Port Augusta at the top of the Spencer Gulf, before battling those same winds on the run south toward Adelaide. 

300 hectare wheat field, Maitland

We pulled off the main highway and after farewelling our New Zealand friends, who were travelling on, we travelled down the Yorke Peninsula to Maitland, where we'd been invited to stay on a 56 000 hectare grain farm. Most of this peninsula is covered in vast grain fields. Our camp was beside one field of over 300 hectares.  The bottom of the peninsula has scenic bays and historic towns and we spent three pleasant nights in the area with our  hosts.

Monday November 25th we arrived in Adelaide, South Australia's capitol city of some 1.2 million people. It was a hot 35 degrees. The next day was 37 degrees.

Adelaide is known as the "

Rundle Mall, centre of Adelaide

City of Churches" and is a pleasant conservative place, with many parks, museums and grand buildings. Adelaide's heart is the Rundle Mall, and the inner city free buses and trams make this a worthwhile visit. The city is bounded in the west by many fine beaches and in the east by the Adelaide Hills. We spent two nights in Adelaide before accepting an invitation to stay with a family in Hahndorf, in the Adelaide Hills.

Hahndorf restaurant

Hahndorf shopping centre

Hahndorf is a perfect picture postcard village in the Adelaide Hills, first settled in 1839 by German migrants. Many of their old stone buildings are still being used today as cafes and craft centres, the narrow main street lined with leafy oak trees which add to the ambiance. You could be in the heart of an old European village.  Near Hahndorf are other pleasant attractions -  bush drives to the lookout at Mt Lofty; elsewhere chocolate and cheese factories, and the world's largest rocking horse at Gumeracha - except it doesn't rock. Our hosts took us on many delightful drives and walks.

Gumeracha Rocking Horse

We had a phone call from our daughters in New Zealand wanting us to arrange a lunch at an Adelaide restaurant, to celebrate our getting across the Nullarbor. Though they wouldn't be there, they implored us to confirm the restaurant so they could arrange payment for the two of us.  We booked a restaurant overlooking the Adelaide coastline and on Saturday December 7th sat down to lunch. A few minutes later, both daughters surprised us, having flown in from Auckland just two hours previously. They'd hidden away until the manager assured them we were there. We were amazed they had gone to so much trouble knowing full well we had no set plans and we could have moved on before they arrived. As it was, we'd arrived in Adelaide two weeks ahead of their 'plans.'

The next four days were a blur of fun as we showed them as much of Adelaide as possible, before they flew home on Wednesday December 11th.  We then packed up and moved on to a cousin's property in Murray Bridge, some 70kms east of Adelaide where the caravan and car will be stored until we return next year.

We'd like now to say a very big Thank You to those people who have helped or hosted us during our travels. You know who you are - our sincere thanks to each of you, though we don't mention names in this blog. We also thank our readers and those who have emailed comments to us. We appreciate your feedback.

We hope you stay with us next year when once again we invite you to join us. Meantime, do have a very memorable and joyous Christmas, and a fabulous New Year.

Merry Christmas 

Seasons Greetings from Aussie